>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY:  If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> I was on WLRN/NPR 91.3 FM http://www.wlrn.org/radio/programs/topical-currents/archive/

Monday Jan. 23 onTopical Currents hosted by Joe Cooper, and on Friday Jan. 27 at noon on the Florida Round-Up show,  where I was on a radio panel moderated by WLRN/Miami Herald host Phil Latzman discussing the Republican primary and other state legislative issues. To listen to the shows go to:  http://www.wlrn.org/radio/programs/florida-round-up/

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Tables turn as Romney surges up in the polls, Gingrich drops, but GOP race is far from over

It’s Showtime in Florida with Republicans going to the polls to pick their champion Tuesday and after a surge from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in past polls, after some devastating attack ads; former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is shooting back into the lead, state recent polling results around the Sunshine State. Romney slowed the Gingrich freight train at Thursday nights CNN debate hosted by Wolf Blitzer and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum and Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas affectively sniped at the other two men with Santorum from the Keystone State hoping to be the alternative conservative candidate. While it looks like Romney will take the day Tuesday with his campaign’s massive get out the absentee vote campaign that should ensure the state’s 50-winner take all delegates will fall his way. He still is not connecting when it comes to passion with voters and seems detached versus the firebrand Gingrich who also proposes new ideas at every turn, though some suggest “these big projects,” are nonsense or over the top.

Further, after Florida, there is a month on very little political electoral activity leading up to Super Tuesday in March. Romney with a nationwide campaign and the money that goes with it will have the edge, but Gingrich should not be counted out given Romney’s tepid likeability with the GOP electorate. And Gingrich continues to attack the “Republican Establishment” being against him because his populist campaign is resonating with the Tea Party folks that has die hard establishment conservatives questioning if the former congressman can defeat President Barack Obama in the General Election and for them. Defeating Obama is such an intense mantra that any personable traits or character flaws of their candidate fall by the wayside. But what is clear is the race will continue and the only next change in the pack may be Santorum who went back to Pennsylvania at the end of the week because his daughter is in the hospital and to do his taxes.

However, Both Romney and Gingrich have considerable baggage and with the nation having 40 percent of independent voters. They have to address these inconsistencies, like in the case of Romney, his 14 percent tax rate (versus the 30 to 35 percent most people pay to the IRS). And with Gingrich, the three marriages and the $1.6 million he got from Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac offering “strategic advice” and being these organizations “Historian.” For the Republican Party core, they can live with these issues but for the nation’s swing voters now a majority since Democrats account for 31 percent of voters to the Republicans 27 percent. The men will have to address these questions because while the GOP sees a bright line in the political sand. The question still remains if these independents are as militant in their passion for or against the president and if these people will actually turnout to vote.

>>> MONDAY IN Miami Beach & Miami: Ros-Lehtinen & S. FL Colleagues Mario Diaz-Balart & David Rivera ~ To Speak Before Transportation Subcommittee Field Hearing On The Castro Regime’s Dangerous Oil Exploration Scheme; Ros-Lehtinen Has Also Scheduled National & Local Media Interviews On News Of The Day & The Republican Presidential Primary In FL

Press release: On Monday, January 30th at 10:00 am, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) as well as her South Florida colleagues, Mario Diaz-Balart and David Rivera, will speak on the dangerous oil exploration plans of the Cuban dictatorship during a field hearing of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The hearing titled “Offshore Drilling in Cuba and the Bahamas: The US Coast Guard’s Oil Spill Readiness and Response Planning” will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Ocean Point (The Atlantic Room) located at 17375 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles Beach. Note that there are other witnesses scheduled to testify before the hearing. Said Ros-Lehtinen, “This dangerous oil drilling scheme by the Castro brothers will breathe life into a decrepit and illegitimate regime by providing the aging dictators in Havana with the dollars they so desperately seek. It can also have very negative effects on our South Florida environment and the national marine parks that attract thousands of tourists and boaters to our shores. This is why I have introduced legislation in the US House to deny US visas to any person or entity that helps the Cuban dictatorship advance its oil drilling plans.

This is a disaster waiting to happen and the Obama Administration has abdicated its role in protecting our environment and national security by allowing this plan to move forward. It confounds me how the Administration says no to our ally Canada with the rejection of the Keystone pipeline, yet it barely took action to prevent the Castro regime from drilling for oil 50 miles from Key West. The Cuban dictatorship knows its time is running out and that the thousands of barrels a day it receives from Hugo Chavez are dependent on too many unknown factors. The US should be doing everything in its power to make sure that Fidel and Raul Castro do not become the oil barons of the Caribbean and that they do not advance their oil exploration plans.” Cong. Rivera said, “The Castro dictatorship has as much regard for environmental safety as it does for human rights.  An oil spill originating in Cuban waters could have a detrimental effect on state and local economies all over the Atlantic coast, hurting businesses and costing American jobs.  That is why I introduced the Foreign Oil Spill Liability Act, which makes the responsible party for a foreign-sourced oil spill liable for cleanup costs and claims for oil that reaches American waters and shores—tripling the liability if the spill originates from the waters of a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

We must continue to discourage companies from doing business with the totalitarian Cuban dictatorship by taking the necessary steps to ensure that American taxpayers are not made to pay for an environmental disaster caused by a terrorist regime.  I continue to be disappointed that the Obama Administration has not used the resources available to it, including imposing sanctions against Repsol, to discourage collaboration with a State Sponsor of Terrorism. However, I believe it is important to remain vigilant and to be prepared in the event of a spill.  A readiness and preparedness plan for this possible eventuality is a responsible and necessary precaution.”

>>> Press release: U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement in observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day:

“Today we especially remember the victims of the Nazi regime’s senseless brutality, and honor their courage in the face of the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust. “As we struggle to heal the scars of the past, we must remember our twin promises never to forget the events of the Holocaust, and never to allow such atrocities to occur again. We must remain vigilant, and we must implement robust Holocaust education programs to promote the values of tolerance, understanding and respect as an antidote against senseless hatred and aggression.

“Most of all, we must continue to work to right the enduring wrongs of the Holocaust, and ensure that no one may profit from the Nazi’s cruelty and crimes.  Holocaust survivors have waited almost seven decades for justice from insurance and rail companies that continue to evade responsibility for their Holocaust-era actions.  The time is now to correct these wrongs.” >> NOTE:  Ros-Lehtinen is the author, with her Florida colleague Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), of H.R. 890, the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2011.  This bipartisan measure would allow survivors to avail themselves of state laws passed to allow them to have their day in court and to require European insurance companies conducting business in those states to disclose Nazi-era insurance policy information.  The measure also establishes a federal right of action to recover proceeds due under the covered policies.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service, yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a  multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on  Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> Sen. Bennett & Rep. Artiles try to have stadiums shelter homeless, should instead ask professional sports to donate to local homeless service providers

State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton and state Rep. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, (Net worth $196,000) have the right idea when it comes to getting professional sports teams to pitch in financially when it comes to the homeless population in these teams cities where public funds were used to build the stadiums. The legislators note that over the years some $271.5 million www.miamiherald.com in Florida tax dollars have gone to these six private enterprises around the state and the facilities receive monthly subsidies of around $166,000. The two politicians want to force the teams to take in the homeless people when the facilities are not being used but that is the wrong tack to take. A more effective solution would be to require the team’s management to contribute to the local homeless shelter programs around the state like the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust for example, that is a national model for the activity and is a public/private partnership.

Putting homeless people in a stadium setting is a recipe for disaster as Hurricane Katrina demonstrated in New Orleans and the Super Dome stadium fiasco, and these homeless organizations have extensive experience in keeping these shelters safe, clean for the residents that many times include families with children. The Watchdog Report agrees professional sports teams should contribute to the communities they are in, if public funds are involved, and while the two legislators have the right idea. The more elegant solution would be for the teams funding these not for profit service providers that would also benefit the team. Since the contributions would be a tax deduction, a win win for all.

Bennett

Artiles

>>> Press release: A statement from Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch:

“Florida TaxWatch commends Senator Jeremy Ring and Representative Marlene O’Toole on the introduction of SB 1498 and HB 1215, legislation that provides a strategic vision for state Information Technology (IT) aimed at operational efficiencies and cost savings for taxpayers.  For the first time in its history, Florida has an opportunity to consolidate the planning, usage, and purchasing of all state government IT needs, eliminate the silos of decision-making, and provide a platform to drive wise and cost-effective consolidation. Technology is a critically key element in the positive, effective, and efficient transformation of any organization, public or private.  Technological advances can be one of the primary weapons used by the state of Florida to drive its costs down while dramatically increasing its organizational effectiveness to deliver more efficient services to its constituents and taxpayers. >>> Florida TaxWatch is committed to finding the most effective and efficient ways for the state of Florida to provide necessary services to the taxpayers, and this bill will go a long way towards reaching that goal.”

>>> Governor Rick Scott reappoints David Lawrence to the Children and Youth Cabinet.

Lawrence, 69, of Coral Gables, is the president of The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation.  He is reappointed for a term beginning January 25, 2012, and ending August 27, 2015.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> And they’re off; BCC Chair Martinez throws his hat into 2012 mayoral race against Mayor Gimenez

Joe Martinez, (net worth $238,000) the Miami-Dade County Commission Chair pulled the trigger this week and has announced he is running for mayor with the primary election this August. He is facing incumbent Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Net worth $923,000) who won the office in late June beating Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina in a runoff election. Martinez, a former Miami-Dade police lieutenant was first elected in 2000 to Commission District 11 in southwestern Dade and he followed now state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami (Net worth $486,000) in the seat when the senator ran a failed bid as Miami-Dade mayor back then. Martinez had said in the past that he would run but now, it is official.  And it will be interesting watching the two men butt heads on the dais while also campaigning for the top countywide slot around the county.

Gimenez has raised around $600,000 in a political committee for his campaign war chest and Martinez aligned with another political committee has raised around $58,000 www.miamiherald.com and the former cop will need significantly more than that for his campaign. However, he has the bully pulpit of the commission at his disposal as well, and with so many others running for the office. It will be the anticipated runoff to be held in November’s General Election that will be the real battle and will determine which candidate carries the day. The other 11 other candidates include Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez who has $49,700 for his campaign and the ten lesser-known people have raised no real significant money to date. Gimenez has responded that he is standing by his decisions since in office and while both men are Republicans in the bipartisan race. Gimenez is more liberal when it comes to social issues than Martinez, but both men respect each other and have worked on a number of past issues together and have even played golf a few times.

What will be an issue with county voters?

However, Gimenez after he was elected. He appointed a variety of vice mayors to his office to do many of the functions of managing the county’s sprawling around 27,000 workers and these people were paid top dollar in the $200,000 to $250,000 range and while the mayor justifies it as getting the best people he can and he did cut his own salary. But for many voters, these rich salaries were a slap in the face after the recall of Mayor Carlos Alvarez and suggested Gimenez, a former Miami manager and fire rescue chief had a tin ear and was not following his campaign promises to change county hall. Further, Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Net Worth $328,500) has been verbally sniping at the mayor about county hall pay calling for a $150,000 cap in employee compensation. And he recently submitted a sliding percentage salary cut plan that would hit the highest paid harder when it came to cuts in pay when trying to fill a gaping budget hole and he has worked the local media on the matter quite extensively. >>> For more go to Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez officially files to run for mayor – Miami-Dade – MiamiHerald.com

Gimenez

Martinez

Suarez

>>> Press release: There have been rumors, speculation, and outright deception in an attempt to siphon support for my candidacy for the Office of Mayor representing our great County.  It is time to end those rumors.  Today, I have filed papers declaring my candidacy for Mayor of Miami-Dade County.

Miami-Dade County is not alone in facing a recession that has left our country reeling in unemployment, foreclosures, and an overall feeling of despair. We even had the largest recall of an elected official in U.S. history.  Many took advantage of this opportunity for personal ambition.  I could not.  I followed the advice of my father to “Finish what I start”.  The residents of District 11 elected me to do a job.  My colleagues then chose me to represent them as Chairman of the Commission.  As such, I placed my personal ambitions aside for the betterment of the community.  However, there is and has been a void in leadership.  Miami-Dade County does not need a bureaucrat running the County. What the residents of Miami-Dade County need and deserve is a leader.  A visionary; someone who will lead this County and place it among the greatest counties/cities in the world.  For too long bureaucrats have been attempting to lead our County and have failed.

As Mayor, my primary objective is to continue with my commitment to maintain a low tax rate, streamline County processes and procedures, improving efficiencies and improving the standards of service.  The County’s success depends on the prosperity of its residents and I will continue my efforts in attracting new industries to the County in an effort to stimulate job creation in the real estate market, create a more efficient and cost effective means of public transportation, and to find ways to clean up obsolete ordinances that continue to impede and cause road blocks in small business development. I promise to listen to the needs of the residents and respond with honesty and humility. >> By announcing my candidacy for Mayor, the Commission District 11 seat will have a vacancy. Therefore, I encourage residents who have a passion for public service and wanting to make a difference in the community to put their name on the ballot.

>>> Press release: Don’t Forget to Vote! Important County Reform Questions on January 31st Ballot.

Currently, all the news media attention is being focused on the Presidential Primary candidates, but there are critically important County Charter Reform ballot questions that you, the voter, must decide upon.  For your convenience, we are providing you with the actual language that will appear on the ballot itself.

A HOME RULE CHARTER AMENDMENT RELATING TO SALARIES, SERVICE, AND TERM LIMITS OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS: SHALL THE CHARTER BE AMENDED TO PROVIDE THAT, AS OF JANUARY 31, 2012, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SHALL: * DEVOTE FULL-TIME SERVICE TO THE OFFICE OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER AND HOLD NO OTHER EMPLOYMENT; * NO LONGER RECEIVE THE $6,000 ANNUAL SALARY ESTABLISHED IN 1957, BUT RECEIVE INSTEAD THE SALARY PROVIDED BY STATE FORMULA, ADJUSTED ANNUALLY (CURRENTLY APPROXIMATELY $92,097); AND * SERVE NO MORE THAN TWO CONSECUTIVE FOUR-YEAR TERMS IN OFFICE EXCLUDING TERMS OF SERVICE PRIOR TO 2012?

CHARTER AMENDMENT RELATING TO INITIATIVE PETITIONS AND ELECTIONS ON CHARTER AMENDMENTS SHALL THE CHARTER BE AMENDED TO INCREASE FROM 60 TO 120 DAYS THE TIME ALLOWED TO CIRCULATE INTIATORY PETITIONS, AND TO PROVIDE THAT ELECTIONS TO AMEND THE CHARTER, EITHER THROUGH INITIATORY PETITIONS OR BY BOARD ACTION, BE HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NEXT SCHEDULED GENERAL ELECTION RATHER THAN WITHIN 60 TO 120 DAYS, AS CURRENTLY REQUIRED?

Early voting has already begun in Miami-Dade County.  For your convenience, we are providing a link from the Miami-Dade Elections Department listing all of the early voting sites that are open throughout the County. http://www.miamidade.gov/elections/wait-times.asp

>>> Press release: Chairman Martinez to announce the review of the County ordinances to facilitate business growth Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 2 p.m.

In an effort to make Miami-Dade County more business friendly, Miami-Dade County Chairman Joe A. Martinez has joined forces with Florida International University’s (FIU) College of Law to review the Miami-Dade County Code in order to identify provisions that delay, impede or hinder the manner in which business and industry interact with the county.  The details of the code revision initiative will be presented at FIU’s College of Law on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 2 p.m.

“Bureaucracy is the impediment to progress, which is why I have made it my goal to turn our local government around,” said Chairman Martinez.  “This endeavor will ensure that code provisions and requirements facilitate the interactions between the County and the business industry.  Facilitating an economic renaissance for Miami-Dade that will certainly foster job creation.” For more information please contact Chairman Martinez’ office at (305) 375-5511. WHO: Miami-Dade County Chairman Joe A. Martinez, FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg, FIU Law School officials and students WHAT: Launch of a Code Revision Initiative Press Conference WHEN: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 – 2 p.m.

WHERE: Florida International University College of Law, Large Court Room (RBD 1000) 11200 S.W. 8th Street Miami, Florida 33199.

>>> Press release: THE BEACON COUNCIL INVITES YOU TO A ONE COMMUNITY ONE GOAL ACCESS SERIES BREAKFAST EVENT TO UNVEIL THE TARGET INDUSTRIES REPORT

The Report, the second in a series of four One Community One Goal Reports, recommends a list of Target Industries and their niche sectors for the future of Miami-Dade County’s economic development and growth. We also will discuss the findings of the next report, the Education Assets Inventory. Thursday, February 2nd | 8:30 am at THE BEACON COUNCIL 80 SW 8th St, Suite 2400

Miami, Florida RSVP via the web at www.beaconcouncil.com/events Price Per Person: $25.00 All ACCESS Series events will also be accessible via webinar with Live Internet question-and-answer opportunities.

>>> GMCVB press release: DEMAND FOR TRAVEL TO GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES REMAINS STRONG ― GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES RANKS #4 IN REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM (REV PAR), #4 IN AVERAGE DAILY ROOM RATE (ADR) AND #4 IN HOTEL ROOM OCCUPANCY FOR JANUARY – DECEMBER 2011 AMONG THE TOP 25 U.S. MARKETS ~ For the year 2011 (January–December), Greater MIAMI and the Beaches showed increases vs. 2010, ranking #4 in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) at $115.65,  #4 in Hotel Room Occupancy at 75.6% and #4 in Average Daily Room rate (ADR) at $152.95 among the Top 25 Markets in the U.S.  Smith Travel Research compares the top markets in the United States based on Occupancy, Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar).

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Five flagged charter schools come back to Audit Committee, concerns remain and a good read on how schools operate

The Miami-Dade Public Schools Audit & Budget Advisory Committee is meeting Tuesday and will be taking up the concerns the internal auditors have had with five local charter schools. The schools were denied going forward to the school board Dec. 6 because of a variety of concerns and while some issues have been resolved. Balere Language Academy, Oxford Academy of Miami, and three Lincoln Marti schools in Hialeah, Little Havana and its International school all have issues outstanding with the nation’s fourth largest public schools auditors. The creation of Charter Schools in the early 1990s around the state of Florida has given students and parents a choice of not going only to public or private schools. Since charters get public funding from the school district based on the number of students attending the organization. The schools can be run as either a for-profit or a not-for-profit and while many do a great job. There is a subset of schools that have had problems, mostly financial and many of the over now 90 or so such schools in Miami-Dade over the years have closed there doors.

However, critic’s carp that some of the schools are only created to make a profit, the public schools do not own the assets even though public money is supporting the operations and is seen as a way for vacant building owners to cover their mortgage by opening their own school, called “a related transaction.” Further, over the years questions of board governance has reared its head and has been reported in past Watchdog Reports. However, these five schools issues show a wide diversity of questions and while state legislators want to give the Charter Schools a further edge. It is clear more oversight and controls should also be considered, especially after a www.miamiherald.com extensive investigative series on some of the schools around the state. To read what the district has found with these five go to: http://mca.dadeschools.net/AuditCommittee/Jan_31_2012/item3.pdf

>>> Press release: Working collaboratively, Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) and United Teachers of Dade (UTD) have developed a strategic agreement through the creation of a Joint Labor/Management Healthcare Sub-Committee which resulted in a Conceptual Agreement with UTD for 2012 Healthcare.  Provisions of the agreement include:

•           Continued free healthcare option for employee-only coverage.

•           Agreement that the District will fund 100 percent of healthcare increases for January – March, 2012 in order to provide time for the healthcare sub-committee to do its work ($16 million).

•           A $28.3 million savings as a result of plan design changes, which will become effective April 1, 2012.

•           Shared responsibility for dependent healthcare cost increases with the District subsidizing dependent premiums in 2012 in an amount of approximately $78 million annually.

•           Increased District contribution toward agreement of $36 million including $16 million for January – March, 2012 premium increases and an additional $21 million for premium increases from April – December, 2012.

•           Agreement to educate employees on wellness issues including identifying health risks through annual physicals and/or biometric screenings and online Health Risk Assessments.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> FRB Member Khagan demurs on UM Law school, will stay and “fulfill my commitment to FRB”

The Watchdog Report got a shock last week when the Miami-Dade Ethics and Public Trust gave an opinion that new Financial Recovery Board Member Mojdeh Khaghan, Esq., could not stay on the FRB if she was hired by the University of Miami’s Law School. I contacted the only woman on the seven member board and she responded by email, “No, I intend to fulfill my commitment to the FRB and will not be applying to UM Law School,” the attorney wrote back. Khaghan, a Columbia University undergraduate and law school graduate has been a welcome addition to the board and was appointed by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and that would have complicated the situation since he is up for reelection in 2012 and is facing Commission Chair Joe Martinez who was instrumental in creating the FRB last spring.

>>> Here is the M-DC Ethics Commission opinion: The most recent member appointed to the Financial Recovery Board (FRB), which oversees operations of the Public Health Trust, is seeking a full-time teaching position at the University of Miami Law School.  However, because the creation of the FRB included a heightened standard of ethics for its members that prohibits relationships that could be perceived as conflicts, Ethics Commissioners responded to a Request for Opinion (RQO 12-01) by Mojdeh Khaghan by ruling that she could not serve in both capacities.   According to the opinion, if Khaghan accepts employment at UM, she would be a stakeholder and would have to resign her position on the FRB.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> MESA approves MOU with Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, deferred at commission meeting, critics want “holistic approach” to environmentally sensitive Virginia Key

The Miami Sports and Exhibition Authority (MSEA) Tuesday afternoon voted 9 to 1 to approve a Memo of Understanding with Friends of Miami Marine Stadium allowing it to move to the city commission meeting Thursday, but with such short notice. On Thursday, Miami Manager Johnny Martinez requested the legislation be deferred. The agreement between the authority and friends will be taken up at a later date, but the clock is ticking with $3 million at risk of county GOB funding shifted to the restoration included for the Dade Heritage Trust in the 2004 $2.9 billion bond. And the proposed deal if approved by the commission using MESA as the agreeing party allows the commission to circumvent the Miami Charter and the so called Joe Carollo Amendment that requires a public vote on anything related to leasing public land on the city’s water front. The iconic stadium needs $30 million to restore it to its original condition before Hurricane Andrew slammed into it on August 1992 and it has laid abandoned since then and is a magnate for graffiti artists and corrosion of the concrete support beams. The board of Friends includes the original stadium’s architect Hilario Candela and Donald Worth and they made their pitch to the authority’s members saying the agreement would give them some standing when it came to fundraising efforts. They believe the restoration could benefit by getting “$6 million in Historic Tax Credits” along with the county bond money and would be great seed money. Further, Mayor Tomas Regalado said the quickness of approving the agreement was important for an organization in February was coming to Miami to review the restoration process.

But there is an under current of concern about the agreement’s land foot print, that public space is at risk and is not being looked at in “a holistic fashion,” after a Master Plan for all of Virginia Key was approved that had extensive public and environmental members participating that includes a proposed Marine Museum as well. Greg Bush, an environments and parks green space advocate at the meeting said the “Island needs to be developed with oversight of all the area. We are talking about an entire island that needs to be planned,” he said. And MESA member Nathan Kurland, the lone no vote. He said “his problem was we are being asked to vote” on something we were “not able to study” but did  acknowledge there is “not one of us that doesn’t want the stadium resurrected,” but he objected to the quick decision on the matter the board was being asked to make. In addition, the proposed initial nine-member steering committee membership is expected to be expanded to include two MESA members on it along with probable two members of the public and possible a county representative in its final reiteration that would be brought back to the commission in the future.  For more on Friends got to: http://www.marinestadium.org/board

>>> Miami Mayor Regalado settles ethics charges

>>>M-DC Ethics Commission ruling: Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado has agreed to settle charges with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE) by admitting that he filed financial disclosure forms in 2010 and 2011 that were incomplete, inaccurate and which failed to properly disclose assets.  According to the Ethics investigation, in the 2010 disclosure form that was filed 29 days after the July first deadline, Regalado failed to note the value of his home or the value of his household goods and personal property.  On his 2011 form, the mayor left blank both spaces where the required home value and personal goods should be listed.  As part of the settlement to the complaint (C 11-34), Mayor Regalado will pay a fine of $1,000, file revised disclosure forms and accept a Letter of Instruction from the Ethics Commission.

>>> Will the second time be the charm? Commission starts over to find an auditor

The Miami Commission is starting over in its quest to find a new commission auditor after three finalists dropped out, there was confusion about the qualifications of the remaining candidates, and if they fit, the education and experience criteria described in the Miami Charter. Commission Chair Francis Suarez (Net worth $81,131) in a telephone interview Sunday, he said the goal was to advertise the position again and select one of the applicants within the next sixty-days. The commission lost its Chartered auditor when Victor Igwe, Ph.D., was not granted a new contract last spring and he is now suing the city.

>>> Press release: FORMER EXECUTIVE OF MIAMI-BASED OCEAN BANK PLEADS GUILTY TO PARTICIPATING IN BRIBERY SCHEME AND TO FILING FALSE TAX RETURNS

A former executive of Miami-based Ocean Bank pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to participating in a scheme to accept bribes and to failing to report the income on federal income tax returns, the Department of Justice announced. Danilo P. Perez, a former vice president of Ocean Bank, pleaded guilty today to felony charges filed on Jan. 18, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Miami. The charges against Perez stem from his accepting nearly $500,000 in cash and other items from unnamed co-conspirators in connection with his supervision of certain unnamed customer business with the bank.

According to court documents, as vice president, Perez generally oversaw Ocean Bank’s lending relationships with corporate customers of the bank.  The department said that beginning in or about February 2001 and continuing thereafter through on or about April 25, 2007, Perez accepted bribes, including payments for expensive watches, Super Bowl Tickets and other items for his personal use, as well as substantial amounts of cash. Perez accepted the payments intending to be rewarded and influenced in connection with his role in approving Ocean Bank’s issuance of letters of credit, loans and overdraft privileges to his co-conspirators. The court documents also show that he failed to report income from the bribes for the tax years 2005, 2006 and 2007, resulting in lost tax revenue of approximately $91,000 to the federal government.

Perez was charged with one count of conspiracy to solicit or demand money and other things of value to influence an employee of a financial institution and three counts of tax offenses. The conspiracy count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 criminal fine. The tax charges each carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison and $250,000 fine. The maximum fine for each count may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine. >>The investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation in Atlanta and Miami, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Anyone with information concerning anticompetitive conduct in the banking industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s Atlanta Field Office at 404-331-7100 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/contact/newcase.htm.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Commissioner Wolfson faces public, point of spear in drive to oust Beach Mgr. Gonzalez

Miami Beach Commissioner Jonah Wolfson is facing the public on Tuesday and the reelected unopposed official last November is the point of the spear when it comes to whether Manager Jorge Gonzalez stays or goes. Wolfson an attorney in the past pushed for a public review of the manager’s performance since Gonzalez has been at the helm of the city the past 11-years. The Watchdog Report originally thought Wolfson had a good shot at having the manager replaced, but I have become more cautious in that assessment after watching a past commission meeting where he and Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower verbally went at it on the dais.  And the public can hear his side of the story on Tuesday at a weekly public affairs breakfast organized by local activists that has been a must attend event for candidates and elected officials including the county mayoral candidates and a state Senator over the years. >>> Miami Beach city Commissioner Jonah Wolfson will be the Breakfast Club speaker, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:30AM – 10:00AM, David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> DMV comes to Gable library Feb. 13, easy way to get a license

Press release: The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), in partnership with the Miami-Dade Public Library System, will bring motorist services to the Coral Gables Branch Library – 3443 Segovia Street in Coral Gables – on Monday, February 13, 2012, from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Mini-FLOWS are a convenient way to renew a driver license, change a name or address on a driver license, get an identification card, and renew vehicle registrations.  To find out what documents are required, visit www.GatherGoGet.com or call 850.617.3995. Cash, personal checks, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards are accepted. To learn more about the DHSMV and their services, visit www.flhsmv.gov. For library information, visit www.mdpls.org

CITY OF OPA LOCKA

>>> Former vice Mayor Pinder settles with ethics commission for “exploitation of official position”

M-DC Ethics Commission press release: A former Vice Mayor and City Commissioner in Opa-Locka has agreed to settle accusations that he misused his government-issued credit card for expenses unrelated to official business.  Terence Pinder was accused of charging approximately five thousand dollars for non-city expenditures from December 2004 through June 2006.  To settle criminal charges, Pinder agreed not to contest the complaint (C 12-04) of “exploitation of official position” by the Ethics Commission and will pay a fine of $500.  He has already reimbursed the city $1,400 and promises to pay another $3,000 to Opa-Locka to cover the unauthorized expenses.  Additionally, Pinder agreed to pay $500 each to the Ethics Commission, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department for investigative costs.

VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY

>>> Dust–up over “Cone of Silence” procedures will change municipal law

M-DC Ethics Commission ruling: A conflict between the procurement code and the “Cone of Silence” for the Village of Palmetto Bay is prompting a change in that town’s laws.  It was triggered by a complaint (C 11-37) against Village Manager Ron Williams and two Park and Recreation officials, Fanny Carmona-Gonzalez and Kirk Hearin, regarding a Request for Proposals for management of the Coral Reef Park Tennis Center.  A selection committee rated one proposer as most qualified, and the manager recommended award of the contract last September, noting that pre-award negotiations had taken place.    The town attorney had advised that such communication was permissible under Palmetto Bay’s procurement code, but later discovered that advice to be in conflict with the Cone of Silence rule.  The Ethics Commission found No Probable Cause that the manager violated rules, but did find Probable Cause that the other employees did.  Since Carmona-Gonzalez and Hearin followed the guidance of the town counsel, no charges will be filed, but a Letter of Instruction will be issued to the city.

TOWN OF BAL HARBOR ISLANDS

>>> Building official Lee did not exploit his office

M-DC Ethics Commission press release: No Probable Cause was found to a complaint (C 11-35) filed against Dale Lee, the Chief Building Official of the Town of Bay Harbor Islands, who was accused of exploiting his official position.  A resident charged that the owner of the building in which he is a tenant was allowed by Lee to use an unlicensed contractor to make certain repairs.  The investigation showed that the repairs were made properly under building codes that allow an “owner/builder permit,” and there was no evidence that Lee received any benefit for approving the permit.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Absentee voters dwarf 11,000 early voters; closed GOP presidential primary has candidates seeking some of the party’s almost 400,000 voters

With early voting ending Saturday, only roughly 11,000 voters opted to participate in that activity but that number does exclude the tens of thousands in absentee ballot voters that have come into the elections office run by Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes (Net worth $614,000) in the Democratic Party dominated county. The state’s second largest county has only the GOP presidential primary on the countywide ballot that also has some local municipal elections including Ft. Lauderdale and there are 397,239 Republican voters that can participate in the closed party race.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> There he goes again, Gov. Scott suspends Boynton Beach Mayor Rodriguez for corruption

There he goes again. Gov. Rick Scott (Net worth $103 million) suspends Boynton Beach Mayor Jose A. Rodriguez for bribery on Friday and it is another notch in the fight to end the state’s “Culture of Corruption.” The governor follows the tradition of past governors that had both former Gov. Jeb Bush and Gov. Charlie Crist doing a brisk business of removing elected leaders in office, almost on a monthly basis during their time in office. Bush given his two terms leads the pack in these removals of office but Scott has a clip going as well and it is a sad commentary on our political institutions and its officials charged with governing the community. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/01/scott-suspends-boynton-beach-mayor-accused-of-corruption.html

Rodriguez

>>> Gov. Scott tapped Judge Gregory M. Keyser, of Boca Raton, to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court.

Judge Keyser, 56, has served on the Palm Beach County Court since 2011. Previously, he practiced with Billing, Cochran, Lyles, Mauro and Ramsey from 2002 to 2011. His additional private practice includes Gay, Keyser and Berkowitz from 2001 to 2002; Gay, Ramsey and Warren from 2000 to 2001; Sachs, Sax, and Klein from 1997 to 2000; Paxton, Crow, Bragg, Smith and Keyser from 1988 to 1997; Marchbanks and Feaman from 1987 to 1988; Paxton, Crow, Bragg and Smith from 1981 to 1987; and MacMillan, Newett, Strawn, Stanley and Botos from 1980 to 1981. Keyser received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a law degree from the University of Florida. “Since serving on the county bench, Judge Keyser has gained invaluable insight into the patience and fairness needed in the judicial process,” Governor Scott said. “His previous 30 years of practicing law have given him a good understanding of the issues facing the people of the Fifteenth Circuit.” Judge Keyser will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Karen L. Martin.

ORANGE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Jeanette D. Bigney and Greg Allen Tynan to the Orange County Court.

Bigney, 38, has been a sole practitioner since 2005.  From 2004 to 2005, she was Of Counsel with Bigney and Orth and practiced with Rigdon, Alexander and Rigdon from 2003 to 2004.  She served as an assistant state attorney with the Ninth Judicial Circuit from 1999 to 2003. Bigney received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University. “Jeanette displays the work ethic, knowledge and temperament expected of a jurist,” Governor Scott said. “I am confident she will interpret and apply the law in a fair and unbiased manner.”

Tynan, 42, has served as an assistant state attorney with the Ninth Judicial Circuit since 2001 and from 1995 to 1999.  From 1999 to 2001, he practiced in the private sector, first with the Law Office of W. Riley Allen and later with the Law Office of Kevin Cannon. Tynan received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University. “As a prosecutor, Greg has demonstrated his willingness to carefully review and analyze the details of every case and the laws relating to them,” Governor Scott said. “His commitment to examine the facts and come to a just decision will serve the people of Orange County well.” Bigney will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Heather L. Higbee to the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Tynan will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge John E. Jordan to the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

DUVAL COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Scott Mitchell to County Court.

Mitchell, 54, has been a sole practitioner since 2010.  Previously, he practiced with Lester and Mitchell from 1995 to 2010, with Moran and Mitchell from 1993 to 1995, Coxe and Mitchell from 1989 to 1993, and with Coxe and Schemer from 1986 to 1989.  He served as an assistant state attorney with the Fourth Judicial Circuit from 1982 to 1986.  Mitchell received a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University and a law degree from Florida State University. “During his 29 years of practicing law in Duval County, Scott has handled cases reflecting a broad spectrum of the criminal justice system,” Governor Scott said. “His experience in both public and private practice have given him the perspective to make decisions in an unbiased manner and according to the rule of law.” Mitchell will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Tyrie W. Boyer to the Fourth Judicial Circuit.

>>> Governor Rick Scott announced today the appointments of Kevin S. Doyle and Matthew J. Falconer to the Board of Directors, Workforce Florida Inc.

Press release: Doyle, 40, of Jacksonville, is the founder and president of the Wexford Strategies Group.  He previously worked for U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, first as regional director and later as state director, from 2004 to 2009.  Doyle graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Florida.  He succeeds Timothy Lyons and is appointed for a term beginning January 27, 2012, and ending March 21, 2015.

Falconer, 50, of Windermere, is the president of Falcon Development.  He is currently a member of the Government Efficiency Task Force and the International Council of Shopping Centers.  Falconer graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  He succeeds Mark Wilson and is appointed for a term beginning January 27, 2012, and ending March 21, 2015.

ST. LUCIE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott names Gail Kavanagh and Jerry H. Sansom to the Florida Inland Navigation District.

Kavanagh, 69, of Port St. Lucie, is the executive vice president of Treasure Coast Builders Association.  She is reappointed for a term beginning January 26, 2012, and ending January 9, 2015.

Sansom, 64, of Rockledge, is the executive director of the Organized Fishermen of Florida.  He is reappointed for a term beginning January 26, 2012, and ending January 9, 2015. >> The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

PINELLAS COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Glenton G. “Glen” Gilzean to the Pinellas County School Board.

Gilzean, 29, of St. Petersburg, has been the executive director of Educate Today Inc. since 2009. Previously, he was a regional field director for the Florida Department of Education from 2006 to 2009. Gilzean has served on the Florida Department of Education School Choice Parent Advisory Committee and as chair of the Hillsborough Head Start/Early Head Start Policy Council. He served on the legislative staff for U.S. Senator Mel Martinez and district staff for State Representative Ed Homan. His additional board membership includes the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, the Florida Attorney General’s Gang Reduction Task Force and the Florida Afterschool Network. Gilzean is a member of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and Cornerstone Family Ministries. He received a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences and a master’s degree in entrepreneurship from the University of South Florida. “Glen’s commitment to education was instilled in him by his parents, who came to this country from Jamaica,” Governor Scott said. “He has dedicated much of his life to ensuring Florida students have the opportunity to learn and achieve in the classroom.” Gilzean fills the vacancy created by the death of School Board Member Lew Williams and will serve until November 19, 2012.

OSCEOLA COUNTY

>>> Gov. Scott names Heather Pinder Rodriguez to the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.

Rodriguez, 38, has been senior counsel for Holland and Knight’s national Construction Industry Practice Group since 1998. In 2008, she received the Florida Bar Young Lawyers’ Section Pro Bono Award for her leadership and advocacy leading to the release of American citizen Cuc Foshee, who had been imprisoned for more than a year in her native country of Vietnam without charges, medical care and access to legal counsel. Prior to becoming an attorney, Rodriguez served in several staff positions with the Florida Legislature from 1994 to 1997, including session secretary for the Florida Senate Majority (Republican) Office, law clerk and session staff aide for the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee and director of the Florida Legislature Mobile Home Study Commission. Rodriguez received bachelor’s degrees in international affairs and Russian and a law degree from Florida State University. “Heather’s commitment to the rule of law has been strengthened by the opportunities she has had to witness firsthand the atrocities possible without it,” Governor Scott said. “Her dedication to her community and willingness to work hard will serve her well on the bench.” Rodriguez will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Stan Strickland.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Please join us for Casa Valentina’s Fifth Annual Community Appreciation Luncheon! You are invited to help us celebrate our successes over the past five years, and to hear our plans for the next five years and beyond… Wednesday, February 8, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Elizabeth Virrick Park Gymnasium, 3255 Plaza Street, Coconut Grove *Walking tour to Casa Valentina following lunch. Our new Program Director, Karen Haag, will discuss how Casa Valentina’s new program for young mothers aging out of foster care with babies will help these youth to form secure attachment relationships with their children. If you are able to attend, please RSVP to info@casavalentina.org by Friday, February 3. Special thank you to our sponsor: Fare to Remember Creative Catering!

>>> SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER AND delancyhill LAW FIRM PRESENT 8TH ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION

The Langston Hughes Project featuring The Ron McCurdy Quartet and celebrity Spoken Word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner

South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) celebrates Black History Month with a presentation of the Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama, Twelve Moods for Jazz on Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage. The performance features the Ron McCurdy Quartet with celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner. As part of this special evening, delancyhill law firm will host their 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration with a VIP reception honoring Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss at 6:00 p.m. in the Black Box Studio. Proceeds from the VIP Reception will benefit SMDCAC’s education and outreach programs. Tickets to the performance are $30, $20, $10 ($5 tickets CultureShockmiami.com), $5 off orchestra level seats for students seniors and active military service members. Tickets to the VIP reception are $50 and includes entrance  to the performance. The public should contact SMDCAC’s Box Office at 786-573-5300 or visit www.smdcac.org. SMDCAC is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

EDITORIALS

>>> PAST WDR OCT. 2010: What about elected leaders perks at the local level?

Elected leaders need to realize they must govern by their  actions in many ways and I thought of this when U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, R-Fl, pulled up to Miami City Hall last week and he was a passenger in a average looking black Nissan sedan, with no security. The same thing recently occurred with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-FL, and U.S. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami and you see it all the time with many other local state or federal legislators but at the county and in certain cities. Some elected leaders travel with an entourage and people should keep a perspective of the true status of the political office they are holding. For ultimately they are just a caretaker of the office and will eventually be replaced or die and how they did and lived in public office will forever be their legacy, and living the political highlife in today’s world is not where a elected leader wants to be given the “new normal,” that these same leaders lament is now falling upon local and county governments.

LETTERS

>>> Press release: Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is the state’s top performing school district according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis. “No big district in Florida has done better in boosting the percentage of students passing the FCAT in reading and math…,” the paper reported. This analysis stands in stark contrast to the school district rankings released by Florida’s Commissioner of Education earlier today.

The Tampa Bay Times analysis points out that M-DCPS has experienced sustained long-term improvement, and in reading progress, Miami-Dade is ranked No. 2 among all 67 districts, while St. Johns, touted as number 1 by the state comes in at 16th. While recent rankings released by the Florida Department of Education list St. Johns County as the No. 1 performing school district, the Times report analyzed ten years’ worth of data from the FCAT for all 67 school districts in Florida and found that M-DCPS has demonstrated consistent improvement in student academic performance. In reading, the percentage of students scoring at grade level or above jumped from nearly 34 percent in 2001 to almost 58 percent in 2010. Likewise in math, the percentage of students scoring at grade level or above increased by nearly 27 points, from 38 percent in 2001 to nearly 65 percent in 2010. The Times analysis also considered factors such as district size, poverty and demographics.  The entire article may be viewed at http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/the-best-school-district-in-florida-it-all-depends-on-how-you-slice-the/1211882

>>> POSTED ON MY BLOG http://floridadocs.blogspot.com Attached a link http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/22/2601913_p3/hospitals-hiring-doctors-to-get.html to an interesting article  written by John Dorschner titled “Hospitals hiring doctors to get ready for reform” highlighting the growing trend of hospitals purchasing physicians practices. Its of interest to note that executives at Baptist and Holy Cross say ” the physicians’ practices on their own do not break even after being purchased, but ancillary income from such measures as diagnostic tests boost the bottom line.” But more diagnostic tests and procedures also means more health care expenditures! At Jackson Health System, Miami-Dade’s public hospitals, the unaudited financial statements for fiscal 2011 show that the doctors’ practices lost $4.4 million!
One employed physician argues that he likes this arrangement because he doesn’t have to spend time dealing with all the business aspects of a private practice. But understanding the business of medicine is exactly what we need to prevail in the rapidly changing health care environment. We cannot pretend that we can practice medicine in splendid isolation and to leave the “dirty” business to others. That’s a prescription for certain marginalization and disempowerment. We must acquire knowledge and skills to master the business of medicine in order to practice medicine more efficiently. What do you think?

Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD, FAAFP, FASAM

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S

HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.

THE MIAMI HERALD     www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)

ARTHUR HERTZ

WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)

ALFRED NOVAK

LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)

JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION  www.knightfoundation.org

THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com

RONALD HALL

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY  www.miamidade.gov

UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT   www.akerman.com

RON BOOK

LEWIS TEIN  www.lewistein.com

LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.

WILLIAM PALMER

SHUBIN & BASS     www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC.   www.camillushouse.org

CITY OF MIAMI  www.miamigov.com.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org

THE STATE OF FLORIDA    www.myflorida.gov

GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com

GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com

HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA  www.hfsf.org

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY  www.miamidade.gov

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM   www.jhsmiami.org

THE BEACON COUNCIL   www.beaconcouncil.com

THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org

THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA    http://www.firstgov.gov/

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI             www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you.   The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events.  The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report.  Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report

Est. 05.05.00

Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me.  The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact.  If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored.  Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003:  U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill:  Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

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>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY:  If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> I will be back to back on WLRN/NPR 91.3 FM www.wlrn.org Monday Jan. 23 from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 on Topical Currents hosted by Joe Cooper, and on Friday Jan. 27 at noon on the Florida Round-Up show,  where I am on a radio panel moderated by Miami Herald host Phil Latzman discussing the Republican primary Jan. 31, and other state legislative issues and readers should listen in.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Gingrich stuns Romney in S.C. with 40% win, Romney must strike back in Fla. to curtail Big Mo

In a stunning upset, Newt Gingrich surged over Mitt Romney in South Carolina Saturday after two local debates showcased the former House Speaker’s debating skills and seemed to have the former Massachusetts governor tongue tied when asked about releasing his tax returns. Gingrich fended off questions about an “open marriage” issue his former wife said he requested and attacked the “elite media” for that being the first question in the Thursday night debate last week to cheers from the crowd. Gingrich gushing confidence at rallies since then even chided Romney when he left a campaign event where the two were expected at the same time, but Romney showed up early and departed, and it made the presumed front-runner look weak. Now both men are coming to the Sunshine State where the big prize is the 50 delegates in the closed Republican Party primary that is a winner take all race that and will have over 2 million voters coming to the polls. The other contenders Rick Santorum (17 percent of the S.C. vote), the former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas (got 13 percent of the vote) both say they are staying in the presidential race and Paul will likely persevere given his hard core voter base but Santorum, if he does poorly in Florida. He will drop out for the lack of money that will hinder his campaign in the state that has 10 media markets and the campaign ad time is not cheap.

Here in South Florida and around the state, the issue of illegal immigrants is a real hot button for people on either side of the debate and while Romney, Santorum and Paul want stricter enforcement of existing laws. Gingrich has stated he thinks there should be a legal pathway for people to follow for those people that have lived in America for years, have raised a family and paid taxes rather than deporting them and breaking up a family that has children born in the U.S. and are citizens. Gingrich is also very well liked in the Cuban-American community though he has made past statements that English should be the dominant language, classes should not be taught in Spanish for newly arrived Hispanics, and believed they should take remedial English classes. However, he apologized for that comment and that sums up what makes the former House Speaker politically dangerous in a general election. Since he can fire up a crowd of supporters with great red meat rhetoric, but he verbally meanders and has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth and with this win. It remains to be seen if his mouth in this much larger state is his greatest liability.

Romney, the steady technocrat had a terrible week including two poor performances at the South Carolina debates where he flubbed his response when asked about when he would release his income taxes. Romney is said to be very personal with family and friends but he comes off stiff and periodically awkward in his manner and Gingrich is focusing on that perceived disconnect with voters that has many Romney supporters concerned about the enthusiasm gap with the candidate. However, the race is far from over and Romney has a formidable campaign organization, plenty of money but the shellacking in South Carolina dissolved him putting the national race away in Florida. And he now finds himself in a real verbal fight for his political life against a foe that shows no reluctance to go for the throat, something Romney has to face and overcome. If he is to prevail in what is now essentially a two-man horse race. >>> Editor’s note: I have met both Gingrich and Romney in the past and there is very little similarity between the two men.

>>> Once again, Camillus House breaks ground, new Direct Care Building aided by Baptist Health’s $1.5 million injection for respite care program

Camillus House continues to have ground breakings at its new location in the Miami Medical District and on Friday the organization did it again with the requisite shovel brigade of officials and supporters for a new 31,000 square-foot Direct Care Building that features a 20-bed medical respite care program that is being sponsored by Baptist Health South Florida and run by Camillus Health Concern. Baptist in a $1.5 million financial partnership with Camillus made the new medical care program possible and it “will serve individuals who are homeless and in need of bed rest in order to recover from an ailment.” Camillus Health Concern will provide “onsite primary healthcare services to individuals residing on the new campus as well as to non-residential clients,” states the press release. The new building will also have another 48-bed overnight shelter for men and women and includes showers, clothing exchanges, laundry and mail services. The new building is expected to “earn a Gold LEED Certification” that also applies to the whole Norwegian Cruise Line Campus and this latest addition to the sprawling new Camillus House complex will be of great benefit to the community.

>>> Press release: Statement by Secretary Clinton ~ New Visa Guidelines

Over the last year, the Department of State has been committed to improving the visa process, decreasing interview wait times in key tourism markets such as Brazil and China and increasing the number of visas we issue – without compromising border security. We are excited to take these efforts even further in support of the President’s travel and tourism initiatives, opening the door to new jobs and exports.  More international visitors to America means more revenue for our cities and states, and we are making it easier for tourists from other countries to experience all that America has to offer. Demand for visas has increased dramatically in recent years, so this administration has made it a priority to increase our capacity while maintaining our strict security standards.  By extending interview hours, adding Saturday appointments, hiring additional staff, and opening new facilities, we have reduced visa wait times in countries around the world.

With today’s announcement, our consular officers will now be able to waive interview requirements on a case-by-case basis for many tourists and business travelers who have already spent billions of dollars in the United States.  This will make it easier for these visitors to return, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants, buy American products and enjoy all that America has to offer. The Department of State plays a significant role in supporting both our economic security and border security.  This update to our visa requirements will encourage greater investment in the United States, helping to create jobs and power American growth without compromising the safety and security of the American people.

>>> Press release: Germany’s Reduction of Aid to Nicaragua Demonstrates Consequences of Fraudulent Elections, Ros-Lehtinen Says

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement on Germany’s decision to decrease foreign aid to Nicaragua due to the fraudulent reelection of Daniel Ortega.   Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: “Germany’s announcement that it will decrease foreign aid to Nicaragua shows the consequences of Ortega’s fraudulent elections in Nicaragua.  This act by the German government is a result of the illegal measures instituted by Daniel Ortega when he blatantly ignored the rule of law and constitution in Nicaragua.

“Democracy in Nicaragua is under assault by the Ortega regime and responsible nations should condemn last year’s presidential election in order to ensure that the Nicaraguan people are granted free, fair, and transparent elections.  Unfortunately, the Obama Administration has failed to take a proactive stance on this issue and Ortega’s systematic power-grab and subversion of the constitution has continued. As President Obama continues to ignore and turn his back on the Nicaraguan people, Daniel Ortega continues to look to Iran and Venezuela to invest in his regime.  I urge President Obama to re-evaluate our policies towards Nicaragua and take immediate action in order to reinstitute the rule of law.  The United States can no longer stand by and watch as democracy is blatantly disregarded in our hemisphere.”

>>> Press release: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) released the following in response to the death of Cuba’s courageous heroes, Wilman Villar Mendoza. Diaz-Balart comments:

“Today, we mourn the loss of another one of Cuba’s courageous heroes, Wilman Villar Mendoza, who died at the hands of the ruthless Castro regime. “Villar Mendoza, part of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, ultimately lost his life for daring to protest the Castro regime’s increased repression. After his arrest on November 14, 2011, Villar Mendoza began a hunger strike that lasted more than 50 days. While in a coma, dying of pneumonia in the Juan Bruno Zayas hospital in Santiago, the Castro regime reportedly locked down the hospital to prevent supporters from visiting him and his family until he died.

“The Castro regime once again has revealed its true nature and has precious, innocent blood on its hands. It has not yet been two years since the regime murdered another hero, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, for similarly expressing his opposition to repression. These deaths are the results of Castro’s reforms.
“Soon, Cuba’s real criminals will have to account for these crimes. Until then, President Obama must cease rewarding the regime’s human rights abuses with unilateral concessions in the form of eased sanctions that channel hard currency to Castro’s thugs. It is shameful that this administration has chosen to assist the Cuban people’s oppressors in the face of such relentless, unabashed brutality. When the dictatorship finally fades to a grim aberration in Cuban history — as it inevitably will — the Cuban people will remember their friends. Sadly, the current administration is not a friend to the long-suffering Cuban people when it appeases and assists their abusers. Mr. President, the Cuban people deserve better. “My prayers are with Wilman Villar Mendoza, his wife Maritza Pelegrino Cabrales, his young children, and the brave activists that have suffered unspeakable brutality for expressing their solidarity with them. Villar Mendoza forever will be a blessing to the Cuban people in their struggle against tyranny, and we must never forget his sacrifice. God bless his soul.”

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service, yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a  multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on  Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> ‘Stand Your Ground’ law gets challenged in stabbing, jury trial follows in Feb. with Judge Tarwick, net worth of $722,000

A Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge has ruled that a defendant claiming he was acting in self-defense when he stabbed a homeless man to death on Miami Beach will now go to a jury trial after the judge denied the ‘Stand Your Ground’ defense. The man was at a Beach nightclub when the incident occurred and the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office charged the man with second-degree murder and hailed the jurists decision. Now Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Daryl Trawick will preside at the trial expected Feb. 13 www.miamiherald.com and it will be the first time the state law passed by the legislature in 2005 will get a real court challenge. The law no longer required a person to retreat before defending oneself and allowed a person to use deadly force to protect themselves and the defense has worked in a number of past high profile cases throughout the state since the legislation passed. However, critics have suggested the law is too vague and allows people to almost create a fear of confrontation and to respond with a weapon and people around the state will be watching this case closely.

What do we know about Judge Trawick?

Trawick through June 30 2011 has a net worth of $722,000 and he lists $75,000 in household goods. His home is valued at $1.2 million, there is $9,000 in a checking account, a deferred compensation account has $12,800 and a time-share account is worth $20,000. The jurist’s liabilities are a $530,000 mortgage, another bank wants $45,000, a credit union is owed $5,200 and the time-share is owed $14,000. His income for the year was $137,970 as a judge, Miami-Dade College kicked in $8,900, St. Thomas contributed $6,666, and he lists no gifts received over $100.00.

Trawick

>>> Children’s Trust CEO Abety-Gutierrez stepping down in 2012, only top executive it has had since 2002

A former trustee of The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade told the Watchdog Report Saturday that Modesto E. Abety-Gutierrez, the only president and CEO the organization has had since voters approved its creation in 2002 is retiring in the coming year. He had been the Miami-Dade County Children’s advocate prior to the Trust being created, was the right hand man to David Lawrence Jr., who was the driving force for creating the organization to fund children’s services and was the original Trust Chair, and is still listed as a Founding Chair on the Trust’s leadership banner. A national search is expected to be done to replace the president and the Watchdog Report gives Abety-Gutierrez a Tip of the Hat for the many decades he has focused his life on helping the children of Miami-Dade.

>>> Children’s Trust administration reviews contract performance measures for new trustees

The Children’s Trust www.childrenstrust.org held a Childhood Health and Development Committee meeting Thursday and with many new members on the large board. The administration did a presentation on how the money is awarded to program providers and how these were ranked for funding. The Trust is about all that is left for social services for children in Miami-Dade and the current budget is around $99 million given the depressed property tax role that a small millage percentage funds to the organization.

>>> David Lawrence gives Children’s Movement update

We won’t have a real children’s movement unless we have leadership in every corner of Florida. (And we do.) Today we introduce the leaders of the 17 regional committees – each with a real record of service, each with a real appetite for children being the No. 1 priority for decision-makers in our state. Look at the home page of the website for The Children’s Movement of Florida, which is www.childrensmovementflorida.org. See the map on the right, and 17 communities. Click on the one for your area, and you’ll learn why each leader is so involved. Thank you for believing, and helping. Dave Lawrence, Chair
The Children’s Movement of Florida P.S.: Children’s Week begins the 29th of this month in Tallahassee, and we’re a proud partner. But, in fact, every week ought to be “children’s week” in Florida. Click here to learn more.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> With Commission poised to vote on mayor’s unions proposals, Commissioner Suarez drops memo bombshell on alternative way to save $38.2 million

With the Miami-Dade County Commission Tuesday set to vote on Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s veto of a 7 to 6 commission vote requiring a large portion of county employees in unions (especially the 5,400 police and corrections officers) to accept a further five percent cut of their salary that goes to offset the cost for their health insurance. Commissioner Xavier Suarez is firing back with his own alternative plan that is based on salary ranges rather than a flat reduction rate across the board. Suarez in a Jan.18 memo to the mayor and commissioners details his proposed option to the vexing dilemma and his office sent the document to the Watchdog Report last week.

>>> Here is the unedited Suarez memo sent to Gimenez and his fellow commissioners

In light of the current budget impasse, I have looked for ways to cover the budget gap in lieu of imposing the 5% health care contribution upon county employees. The following proposals suggest different means to balancing the budget. These suggestions take into account the previous cuts suffered by our employees and also the perception that our workforce is bloated and overpaid. Using the base salaries obtained from payroll received from the Commission Auditor’s office on January 17, 2012, approximately $38.27 Million can be saved by implementing the following “sliding scale:”  Employees with base salaries at $50,000 contribute 1% of their base salaries; Employee contributions increase by a half percent at every $5,000 interval up to the base salary of $100,000. Employees with base salaries above $100,000 would have contributions that increase by 1% at every $5,000 interval until $150,000 with a maximum contribution of 15%; Employees with base salaries over $150,000 would have a maximum contribution of 15%, this would amount to an additional $4.9 Million in savings.

Another means of achieving a significant amount of savings, amounting to approximately $33.475 Million, is as follows: Employees with base salaries at $50,000 with a 1% contribution; Employee contributions increase by 1% at every $10,000 interval up to the base salary of $150,000. Employees have a maximum contribution of 10%; Employees with base salaries over $150,000 would have a maximum contribution of 10%, this would amount to an additional $3.28 Million in savings. (Please see attached chart for further clarification of the “sliding scale” used) It is important to note that these figures do not include the amount that would be saved if all positions were to be capped at $150,000. It should be noted that these suggestions do not cap all salaries as certain positions may demand a greater level of responsibility/expertise. These are just a couple of suggestions that would resolve the current impasse without having to lay off employees or diminish the quality of our services.

>>> Commissioner Bell pushes for four–year lobbying ban for her peers and mayor

County Commissioner Lynda Bell is pushing for a longer period of time before commissioners and the mayor can lobby the county commission after they leave office. She wants to increase that prohibited time from two to four years before these former officials can lobby the commission and this is seen as a positive step and will deter the perception of a lobbying revolving door that currently has a couple of past commissioners now doing that activity including former Commissioner Jimmy Morales who left the body in 2004 and state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami who left in 2000 and both men would not be affected by this legislation if it passes muster on Tuesday. http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/matter.asp?matter=120066&file=true&yearFolder=Y2012

>>> Will UMSA incorporation of over 1 million residents get a green light? Commissioners Heyman, Bovo, and Monestime hope so

There may be light at the end of the incorporation tunnel that was suspended by the county commission on September 2007 and this ordinance repeal is being pushed by three commissioners and will be heard on Tuesday at the commission’s board meeting. The commission has resisted allowing the unincorporated portion of Miami-Dade called the Unincorporated Municipal Service Area (UMSA) with over 1 million residents being allowed to incorporate into smaller municipalities or be annexed by existing cities that would govern themselves, because it would also reduce the county’s administrative footprint. Commissioners Sally Heyman, Esteban Bovo and Jean Monestime are pushing lifting the ban and it remains to be seen if commissioners agree and decide to get out of all the county services business that includes police, fire rescue, zoning and solid waste pick-up. http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/matter.asp?matter=112543&file=true&yearFolder=Y2011

>>> Press release: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded Miami-Dade Transit more than $62.1 million in grants for Fiscal Year 2011. The money comes from the Urbanized Area Formula Funds and Fixed Modernization Funds grants.  Of the $62.1 million, approximately $61 million of the grant funds are for Preventive Maintenance (PM) expenses incurred during Fiscal Year 2011, and the remaining $1.1 million will be used for transit enhancements, security expenditures, and program support for the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

“We are pleased that Miami-Dade Transit has been awarded this long-awaited $62 million of federal grant funds. This demonstrates that much progress has been made in addressing the issues previously identified by the FTA,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. On November 28, 2011, the FTA along with their contracted Financial Management Oversight (FMO) team began a Financial Management Oversight review of Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), which was completed on December 22, 2011.   After a thorough review by the FTA and the U.S. Department of Labor, MDT was awarded and executed the grants totaling more than $62.1 million.

>>> Press release: Commissioner Jean Monestime invites public to celebrate the 208th anniversary of the Independence of Haiti

Residents of Miami-Dade County are invited to join Miami-Dade County District 2 Commissioner Jean Monestime at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at the Stephen P. Clark Center to commemorate the 208th anniversary of the independence of Haiti.  Commissioner Jean Monestime will also take this opportunity to recognize leaders from various sectors in the community. “Two hundred and eight years ago, our forefathers rebelled against their colonial masters to form the first independent black republic in the western hemisphere,” said Commissioner Monestime. “Today we remember Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Toussaint L’Ouverture, Alexandre Pétion, Henri Christophe, Capois La Mort and all the other heroes who broke the chains of slavery. We also use this occasion to recognize a few community leaders who are carrying the torch of freedom while paving the way for future generations”. Commissioner Monestime is the first Haitian-American to serve on the Miami-Dade County Commission. For more information, please contact Commissioner Monestime’s office at 305-694-2779. WHO: Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jean Monestime WHAT: Celebration of 208th anniversary of Haitian independence WHEN: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 – 9 a.m. WHERE: Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, 2nd Floor Commission Chambers, Downtown Miami, FL.

>>> GMCVB press release: RECORD LEI$URE AND HO$PITALITY JOB$ IN GREATER MIAMI AND THE BEACHES DURING MONTH OF DECEMBER 2011 AND 19TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF JOB INCREASES

Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality Industry JOBS reached a RECORD high for December with an increase of +1.6% in December 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. This is the 19th consecutive month of increased employment in Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality industry.  In December 2011, a RECORD 110,000 people were employed in Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality sector compared to 108,300 for December 2010.

GREATER MIAMI LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY JOB$

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> State denial of federal funds for district created charter school has attorney firing back in blistering letter to Fla. Dept of Education

A blistering letter to Adam Miller, the head of the Florida Department of Education’s Charter Schools director went out Jan.10 after the state denied a federal funding grant for starting a charter school approved by the Miami-Dade Public Schools Board last year. Below is the letter to the state but rarely has the Watchdog Report seen such a explosively written correspondence to state officials and the gloves are definitely off when it comes to this matter. The Watchdog Report requested this correspondence last week and readers can see for themselves how heated the communiqué is from the charter school’s attorney.

>>> Here is the unedited January 10, 2012 letter.

Adam Miller, Charter Schools Director

Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice

Turlington Building – Florida Department of Education

325 W. Gaines Street, Room 522

Tallahassee, FL  32399-0400

RE: ACADEMY FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION- ELIGIBILITY FOR CSP GRANT

Dear Mr. Miller:

I represent the Miami Dade Foundation for Educational Innovation, which is the nonprofit charter holder for the Academy for International Education Charter School (AIE) in Miami Florida.  I write this letter to express the extreme outrage harbored by my client upon learning that the recently released Requests For Proposals to obtain the federally funded CSP Planning and Implementation Grant excludes district-managed charter schools.  AIE is a charter school by every definition under state and federal law.  The school was legally created as any other charter school and is entitled to participation as such in the RFP.  To our knowledge, there are no other district-managed charter schools with the exception of my client.  This exclusion, therefore, seems to be specifically directed at AIE.  This conclusion is supported by the fact that the Technical Assistance issued by your department mentions no exclusion of district-managed charters under “Eligible Applicants.”  Therefore, no legal basis exists for this exclusion.  We therefore demand a reconsideration of this decision to exclude AIE.

A few facts about AIE Charter School: A separately negotiated Management Agreement exists between the Miami-Dade Foundation for Educational Innovation (the nonprofit charter holder), and the Miami-Dade County School Board; A separately negotiated lease agreement exists between the parties;

The employees of the school are employees of the nonprofit charter holder, not the Miami-Dade County School Board; No members of the governing board of the nonprofit are employees of the Miami-Dade County School Board; The nonprofit has the right to terminate the Management Agreement without penalty or threat to its Charter Contract; The nonprofit has its own, independently retained attorney. In short, AIE Charter School is independent of the Miami-Dade County School Board and can operate as such.  Because that is the case, your unilateral exclusion of AIE from even applying for a CSP grant is arbitrary and capricious amounting to a deprivation of due process.

Through this letter, I am also making the following requests in accordance with Section 119.07, Florida Statutes: A copy of the FDOE Application to the USDOE for the award of CSP funds; A list of all district-managed charter schools in the state of Florida; and Any and all correspondence emails, etc. in your agency pertaining in any way to AIE Charter or any district-managed charter school in Miami-Dade County for the past two (2) school years. You may send the requests to the address at the bottom of this letter.  Please be informed that MDFEI reserves the right to seek an injunction under the Administrative Procedures Act against its exclusion from participating as a lawfully created and independently run charter school.

PLEASE GOVERN ACCORDINGLY.

Sincerely,

Corey M. Smith, Esq.

Board Attorney, MDFEI

Cc: State Board of Education Members; MDFEI Board of Directors

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> Migoya juggling many financial balls as $10 million cash shortfall looms in Aug. again

With a looming cash crisis in August again rearing its head, Jackson Health System management is looking for ways to cut costs and enhance revenue streams in the future but first must stem losses right now as well to avoid going over this fiscal cliff. Donn Szaro, the organization’s Chief Strategy Officer said Thursday at the Financial Recovery Board committee meetings that there is a “bifurcated strategy” that involves a number of “ongoing initiatives at this time,” to stem the red ink “on a permanent basis.” He said the goal was to take “Jackson to the second level” saying the health system has “to be the epicenter of national health reform.” If it is to survive. He called the plan the “no longer business as usual transformation” and every aspect of the organization is being reevaluated. The strategist said the Trust is focusing on “business units” and accountability is the watchword in this new culture. He noted people account for the bulk of the costs at the hospital system and with patient “utilization down,” staffing levels must be adjusted to the environment.

When it comes to the University of Miami Annual Operateing Agreement (AOA) Szaro said the plane is to continue to work on it but will “just extend last year’s agreement” for the moment.  He said this was being done because so much of the discussion “reflected on the past, we need a new era”, and when the university’s budget year ends at the end of May. He predicted the following agreement will be “completely revised” and involve a whole “new relationship” that includes “a dedicated group of UM physicians that focus exclusively with Jackson” and “we will build a new Jackson.” He also noted when it came to the top-notch specialists at the UM Miller Medical School, “we will buy that” physician consult in the future. Further, CEO Carlos Migoya is aggressively trying to build the Jackson brand in South Florida and is courting community physicians to send their patients to JHS. Szaro said the goal was to diversify how patients are admitted to the main hospital that now has about 85 percent of patients coming from UM physician’s admissions. The strategist said the plan was “to expand [physician] access to bring in more patients” and to reduce that to 50 percent UM doctors admissions and supplement that with 50 percent of patients coming from FIU physicians and other local community medical groups. He further noted the AOA conversation still included “the 16 million in cuts to the [Miami] AOA agreed to before and the $36 million in clinical environmental savings” commitment by the university.

Szaro also showed a proposed plane that could save or bring in around $1.1 billion over the coming years that involved a wide array of reforms and initiatives that included competing for a $30 million federal grant. He said everyone is being asked to “think about what they are doing and how to do it better” and likened the reforms and changes in the future like “going from a cave to the moon.” Further, while he praised the humanitarian missions the institution has under taken over the years like helping after the devastating Haiti earthquake last January. “We go out and help [Haiti] but it comes at a cost” and “We are entitled to more money from the state and in DC,” since we are providing this humanitarian help, he thought.

>>> Press release:  PREVENTING BIRTH DEFECTS ~ Jackson Health System Recognizes National Birth Defects Prevention Month – Birth defects affect approximately 1 in 33 babies is born in the United States and they are a leading cause of infant death.

January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month and Jackson Health System is committed to educating expectant mothers on how to increase their ability of having a healthy baby. Below are some steps a woman can take to prepare for a healthy pregnancy. Many causes of birth defects are unknown, but women can greatly increase their ability to have a healthy baby by not consuming alcohol, smoking and taking illegal drugs. Women who are trying to become pregnant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, and continue to do so throughout the pregnancy. Folic acid is a B-complex vitamin needed by the body to manufacture red blood cells, which prevent major birth defects of the baby’s brain and spine. Pregnant women should see their doctor regularly for prenatal care, which helps keep both the mother and baby healthy. Babies born to mothers who do not receive prenatal care are three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care. >>>

Jackson Health System provides a full range of maternity services to women throughout Miami-Dade County. These services are available at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson South Community Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center, as well as Jackson’s network of clinics, North Dade Health Center, Jefferson Reaves Sr. Health Center and Rosie Lee Wesley Health Center. Giving birth at Jackson provides patients with around-the-clock access to some of the world’s top physicians, and a renowned neonatal intensive care unit, dedicated to protecting the health of mother and child.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> If MESA passes MOU with Friends of Marine Stadium, commission will vote on item on Thursday, four-year deal

An agreement between the Miami Sports and Exhibit Authority (MSEA) with Friends of Miami Marine Stadium Inc. will be voted on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. at the MSEA board meeting and if passed by that body. The contract will be in front of the commission on Thursday. The Memorandum of Understanding calls for the creation of a nine-member steering committee and will be in affect for up to four years. Friends is a not-for-profit organization trying to raise funds for the iconic stadium on Virginia Key but the job is considerable and the stadium has been left vacant since Hurricane Andrew blew through Miami in late August 1992. The oversight committee board will consist of three members of Friends, three community members with experience in comparable community projects, one educator from either NOAA, University of Miami Rosenstiel or Mast Academy, one member from a wide array of environmental groups and a commercial person from either a restaurant, the marine industry or Seaquarium rounds out the board. The head of the board will be the city’s planning director and support documents indicate there is no public money being used for this activity over the coming years.

However, the structure is in disarray and will take considerable funding in the tens of millions through grants and other sources to rehabilitate the iconic facility and is why the four year duration of the deal which had Miami-Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez in the past describing the project as “the ugly,” when it came to any short term progress and possible county funding for the project.

>>> Jungle Island looking for another 50-years of lease with city

A reliable source told the Watchdog Report Friday morning that Jungle Island is trying to get Miami to agree to “a 50 year lease extension,” after the attraction was approved by the city’s voters in 1995 allowing then Parrot Jungle previously in Pinecrest to move to its present site on Watson Island. The organization has financially struggled since it opened and has been reported in the Watchdog Report over the years but the issue is coming to a head in February when some financial payments are due to the city and county but may not be met. Jungle Island principles Bern Levine and Ron Krongold invested millions of their own money but also took out a $25 million HUD loan with Miami-Dade and a private $10 million loan with a private bank, while current, is another stone weighing down the attraction that employs over 400 people.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Federal trial juror cops guilty plea for asking for a bribe

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced that Italy Champagna, 55, a former juror in a federal criminal trial, has pled guilty to charges of soliciting a bribe in exchange for agreeing to convince fellow jurors to vote not guilty in a criminal case.   Sentencing has been scheduled for April 4, 2012.  At sentencing, the defendant faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

According to the criminal complaint previously filed in this case, Campagna was a sworn trial juror in the federal criminal case of United States v. Arturo Marrero, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case No. 10-60244-CR-COOKE.  On October 4, 2011, Campagna approached the father of the defendant outside the Courthouse in Miami and stated that he had information about the case.  Campagna gave the father a piece of paper with a telephone number on it, but did not identify himself by name or explain that he was a juror.

Later that afternoon, the defendant’s brother called Campagna and arranged to meet with him in Miami Beach to discuss the case.  At that meeting, Campagna revealed to the brother that he was a juror in the case and that some of his fellow jurors were inclined to convict.  Campagna offered to persuade other jurors to vote not guilty in exchange for a payment of between $50,000 and $100,000. The brother expressed skepticism at Campagna’s claims and said that he would get back to him the next day. The next day, on October 5, 2011, the brother began to cooperate with the FBI and made a recorded telephone call to Campagna to follow up on his discussions of the day before. The brother asked whether Campagna was still willing to help influence the outcome of the case, and Campagna answered yes.  The brother then proposed a meeting at the same time and place to discuss money and other details.  Campagna agreed. The brother stated that he had been able to get some money together but wanted to negotiate a final price. Later that day, the brother participated in a recorded meeting with Campagna.  Campagna reiterated that he could influence the jury and prevent a guilty verdict. The brother and Campagna then began to negotiate over price, and eventually settled on $20,000 as a deposit.  Campagna followed the brother to his vehicle to obtain the cash payment. The brother then handed Campagna what appeared to be a bundle of cash in a brown paper bag.  At that point, Campagna was arrested. >>> This case was investigated by the FBI-led Miami Area Corruption Task Force, which includes the City of Miami Police Department and the Hialeah Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Frazier. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>>Press release: City Extends Grace Period Until April 15^th For Compliance With Truck Restrictions

The City of Coral Gables has extended the grace period until April 15, 2012, for enforcement of the restrictions pertaining to trucks parked in residential and commercial areas. The City has granted this extension to provide more time for residents to come into compliance with the law. Enforcement would begin after expiration of the grace period if compliance has not been achieved. Fines are $100 for the first violation, and up to $500 for each subsequent violation.

The City of Coral Gables has prevailed in the legal court case challenging the City’s ordinances restricting the parking of trucks. The Third District Court of Appeal previously upheld the constitutionality of sections 4-411 and 4-412 of the Coral Gables Zoning Code pertaining to trucks parked in residential and commercial areas. The Florida Supreme Court has decided not to review this decision.

Based on the provisions that have been upheld, the parking of trucks in residential areas is prohibited unless the truck is parked in an enclosed garage. Likewise, the parking of trucks upon the streets or other public places in the City is prohibited between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. of the following day. The City’s truck ordinances seek to preserve the integrity of residential areas and the unique aesthetic qualities of the City of Coral Gables. For more information, please contact Code Enforcement at 305-460-5226.

VILLAGE OF PALMETTO BAY

>>> Gov. Scott taps again Parker, chooses Caruncho of Palmetto Bay and Kuntz of Winter Park to the Board of Governors of the State University System.

Parker, 49, of Jacksonville, has been a partner at Lawrence and Parker P.A. since 2000 and president of Linking Solutions Inc. since 2003. Previously, she was an assistant public defender from 1988 to 1991 and assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Transportation from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, she was an aide to a Commissioner on the Public Service Commission. She currently serves on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.  She has also served on the Jacksonville Housing Commission from 2002 to 2006, on the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2002, and as general counsel for Edward Waters College. Parker received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida. She is reappointed for a term beginning January 19, 2012, and ending January 6, 2013.

Caruncho, 53, of Palmetto Bay, has been the co-founder and chief operating officer of Preferred Care Partners Inc. since 1996. Prior to founding the company, he was a corporate healthcare attorney representing clients in the healthcare industry for more than 13 years. He serves on the Florida International University (FIU) Center for Leadership Advisory Council and has been a member of the FIU Foundation Board of Directors since 2006, and most recently served as the board’s chairperson. He has also served as a board member of the FIU Alumni Association, chairperson of the FlU College of Business Dean’s Council, and is a founder of the FIU College of Medicine. Caruncho received an associate degree from Miami-Dade College, a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University. He succeeds Ann Duncan and is appointed for a term beginning January 19, 2012, and ending January 6, 2019.

Kuntz, 55, of Winter Park, has been president and chief executive officer of SunTrust Banks Inc. since 1999. Beginning his banking career with SunTrust in 1978 as a management associate, he later managed several different divisions of the bank’s operations. His extensive community involvement includes serving on the Scripps Florida Funding Corporation Board of Directors since 2011 and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Council of Governors since 2006.  In addition, he has served on the Rollins College Board of Trustees, has been a member of the Florida Council of 100 since 2005, and the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors since 2006, including serving as a past vice chairman. He served on the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors from 2004 to 2010 and the Florida International University Foundation Board of Directors from 2002 to 2004.  Kuntz received a bachelor’s degree from Rollins College. He succeeds J. Stanley Marshall and is appointed for a term beginning January 19, 2012, and ending January 6, 2019. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Deerfield Beach Commissioner Poiter gets slap on the wrist, can run again in 2015, sentencing judge Brown has $346,000 net worth

The slap of the hand of Deerfield Beach Commissioner Sylvia Poitier by Broward Judge Melinda Brown after the commissioner was found guilty of four misdemeanor counts has shocked some Broward residents. Poiter was removed from office last week when Gov. Rick Scott suspended her from office but people are objecting to the lenient sentence of one-year of administrative probation, 200 hours of community service, and a $1,000 fine, after the lawmaker failed to disclose a $46,000 loan from her brother who ran a not-for-profit slated to get a $30,000 loan from the municipality. Further, Brown withheld adjudication allowing the ruling to be expunged in the future and Poiter could possible run again for political office in 2015, and it is this fact that has people shaking their head about the sentence.  http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/17/2594276/governor-removes-poitier-from.html

What do we know about Brown?

Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Brown to the county bench in June 2010 and she was a former Magistrate and assistant state attorney. Brown, 55, has a family and is up for election to the Group 23 seat this year and she has an active campaign webpage but is facing no opponent to date. She has raised $18,250 and loaned $5,000 to the campaign war chest state election documents. Further, the Watchdog Report pulled up her financial disclosure forms and through Dec. 2010. She had a net worth of $346,000, and she lists $8,000 in household goods. Her home is worth $420,000, two vehicles are valued at $16,000, $4,000, a property in Kentucky is worth $20,000, and there is $8,000 in the bank. Brown’s liabilities include owing $6,687 on one vehicle, a Bank of America mortgage is owed $100,490 and Wells Fargo wants $4,395. Her income for the year was $134,720 and the only gift listed was a used judge’s black robe she valued at $100.00.

>>> Two more defendants sentenced in pill mill Operation Oxy Alley

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announced the sentencing of two additional  defendants in connection with charges stemming from Operation Oxy Alley, a coordinated investigation into pill mills in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.  Including the two defendants sentenced today, thirteen defendants have been sentenced to date on an indictment unsealed on August 23, 2010, which charged thirty-two defendants.  The indictment alleged that defendants Christopher and Jeffrey George, twin brothers, operated, managed and financed four pain management clinics in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.  According to the indictment and statements made in court, from 2008 to early 2010, these pill mills distributed approximately 20 million oxycodone pills and made more than $40 million from the illegal sales of controlled substances.  Thirteen of the thirty-two defendants were doctors.

Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced two defendants, both of whom had previously pled guilty in September and October 2011.  Christopher Hutson, 31, of Wellington, pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and Christine Chico-Blume, a doctor, 59, of Jupiter, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  Christopher Hutson was sentenced to 108 months in prison, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release.  Christine Chico-Blume was sentenced to 60 months in prison, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release. At present, twenty-eight of the thirty-two defendants named in the indictment have pleaded guilty, including clinic owners Christopher and Jeffrey George.  The sentencing hearings are scheduled to continue throughout January and February 2012. >>> The investigation and prosecution was the result of work by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  FBI, DEA, IRS-CID were assisted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Hollywood Police Department, the Boca Raton Police Department, and the Davie Police Department.  Coordination efforts also included cooperation by the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office as well as contributions by the Delray Beach Police Department, Jupiter Police Department, West Palm Beach Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, Medley Police Department, Homestead Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, and Sunny Isles Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz, Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Strider Dickson. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> Boynton Beach man gets 51 months in mail fraud Ponzi investment scam

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Tom Grady, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced that Anthony F. Cutaia, 65, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced yesterday in federal court.  U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley sentenced Cutaia to 51 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Cutaia had pled guilty in July 2011 to Count 2 of a Criminal Information filed in June 2011, which charged him with mail fraud in connection with his participation in a real estate investment scheme from 2003 to 2006, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section, 1341.  According to the filed Information and statements made during the plea hearing, Cutaia was the managing member and beneficial owner of CMG Property Investment Group, LLC, which purportedly engaged in commercial real estate investment.  Cutaia was also the host of “Talk About Mortgages and Real Estate,” a television and radio program.

According to the factual basis in the plea agreement, from March 2003 through December 2006, Cutaia entered into Contract Participation Agreements with investors.  These contracts stated that investors’ money would be used solely to purchase real estate contracts in Palm Beach and Broward Counties and that CMG would not collect commissions or fees until the properties were sold and a profit was made.  In fact, however, Cutaia allegedly invested little of the investors’ money in real estate and instead used the investors’ money to make payments to pre-existing investors and to pay his own business and personal expenses.  Mr. Ferrer commended the efforts of the FBI and the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emalyn H. Webber. >>>A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

ORANGE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott announced the appointment of Jeffry R. Jontz to the Statewide Nominating Commission. This Commission reviews the conduct of existing compensation claims judges and submits names to the Governor, from which he selects new appointments.

Jontz, 67, of Winter Park, has been an attorney with Swann, Hadley, Stump, Dietrich and Spears P.A. since 2005. Previously, he practiced with Carlton Fields from 1996 to 2005. He served as an assistant United States attorney for the Middle District of Florida from 1972 to 1974. In addition to his community service on the boards of directors of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and Junior Achievement of Central Florida, he has served as chair of the City of Maitland’s Code Enforcement Board and the City of Winter Park’s Board of Adjustments. Jontz received a bachelor’s degree from Drake University and a law degree from the University of Iowa. He succeeds David Beyer and is appointed for a term beginning January 20, 2012, and ending July 1, 2013.

NASSAU COUNTY

>>> Ga. Company brings 30 new jobs in next three years, skilled machinists and engineers

Press release: Governor Rick Scott announced that Brunswick, Ga.-based ALM Technologies Inc. (a.k.a. Definitive Design Inc.), a high precision aerospace manufacturing company, has announced that it will relocate to Yulee in Nassau County in early 2012, creating 30 net new positions during the next three years.  The average annual wage of the positions – to include skilled machinists, engineers and support personnel – will be $41,267, which is 137 percent of Nassau County’s.  The company also will make a substantial capital investment in Nassau, including the purchase of a building and new equipment for its operations.

ALM Technologies provides products for major aerospace suppliers in support of commercial and defense contracts.  The company was formed in June 2011 to acquire the selected assets of Definitive Design Inc., which had been privately held since 1996.  “We welcome ALM Technologies to Florida and look forward to its contributions to our aerospace and manufacturing sectors, which are vital to our state’s economic growth and job creation,” said Governor Rick Scott.  “With this announcement, the Sunshine State continues to show that it’s open for business.” “Nassau County and the economic development board provided exactly what we were looking for in our location search – a focused, detail-oriented and quick approach the entire way,” said ALM President Michael J. Piscatella.  “While the growth we expect may be inconsistent with the current economic conditions, the forecast for the aerospace industry is in the early stages of a strong upswing.  We trust that Definitive Designs can and will bring positive growth to Nassau County.”

The Nassau County Economic Development Board (NCEDB) was instrumental to the selection of Yulee from among the contending cities for ALM’s relocation.  “This is a big win for Nassau County.  Entrepreneurs are the growth drivers in this economy and that is what Definitive Designs will bring to our county – positive growth,” said Steve Rieck, executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board Executive Director.  “NCEDB’s job is not done.  We plan to continue working with Definitive Designs to provide any support they require with regard to workforce training, building permitting etc.  We brought them here and we want to keep them here.”

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Elephant Forum luncheon meeting, Monday Jan.23rd 94th Aero Squadron restaurant, 1395 N.W. 57 Ave (Red Road) Speaker:  Rudy Fernandez, Vice President of Government Affairs, University of Miami – Reservations:  please call:

Mary Ellen Miller, 305 377 9187.

>>> SAVE THE DATE – www.downtownbayforum.org January Meeting Topic: The Bankruptcy of American Airlines What does it mean for Miami? January 25, 2012 – Registration opens: 11:30 a.m. Place: Wolfson Auditorium, Temple Israel at 137 NE 19th St, Miami, FL (with complimentary onsite parking) For more information please click on Tickets For Reservations please call Annette Eisenberg — (305) 757-3633.

>>> Please join us for Casa Valentina’s Fifth Annual Community Appreciation Luncheon! You are invited to help us celebrate our successes over the past five years, and to hear our plans for the next five years and beyond… Wednesday, February 8, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Elizabeth Virrick Park Gymnasium, 3255 Plaza Street, Coconut Grove *Walking tour to Casa Valentina following lunch. Our new Program Director, Karen Haag, will discuss how Casa Valentina’s new program for young mothers aging out of foster care with babies will help these youth to form secure attachment relationships with their children. If you are able to attend, please RSVP to info@casavalentina.org by Friday, February 3. Special thank you to our sponsor: Fare to Remember Creative Catering!

>>> SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER AND delancyhill LAW FIRM PRESENT 8TH ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION

The Langston Hughes Project featuring The Ron McCurdy Quartet and celebrity Spoken Word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner

South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) celebrates Black History Month with a presentation of the Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama, Twelve Moods for Jazz on Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage. The performance features the Ron McCurdy Quartet with celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner. As part of this special evening, delancyhill law firm will host their 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration with a VIP reception honoring Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss at 6:00 p.m. in the Black Box Studio. Proceeds from the VIP Reception will benefit SMDCAC’s education and outreach programs. Tickets to the performance are $30, $20, $10 ($5 tickets CultureShockmiami.com), $5 off orchestra level seats for students seniors and active military service members. Tickets to the VIP reception are $50 and includes entrance  to the performance. The public should contact SMDCAC’s Box Office at 786-573-5300 or visit www.smdcac.org. SMDCAC is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

EDITORIALS

>>> Firebrand Gingrich, technocrat Romney duke it out in Sunshine State with Santorum and Paul trailing but what of GOP voter turnout?

With the Jan. 31 Republican Party presidential primary just over a week away, the question of voter turnout is on everyone’s lips that already has well over 400,000 absentee ballots statewide already going out. Turnout has been abysmal in local municipal elections over the past year and if there was ever a time for GOP voters to turnout, it is now given the fluidity of the race that has all the candidates being asked just one question. Can they beat President Barack Obama on the national stage and while you have to give Gingrich an edge when it comes to public speaking and getting a crowd stirred up. He also raises doubts for many in the party if he is steady enough and has the political temperament to not only take on Obama, but also to run the country.

Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor is having an enthusiasm gap and on paper he seems like a great candidate but he is coming across as “distant” when he talks to crowds and with a personal fortune of $250 million. His response when it came to any speaking fees he earned being essentially peanuts, though was over a $300,000 amount caught many voters by surprise. Since many people would be over the moon to make that kind of money. Further, at Thursday’s debate he stumbled on whether he would release his tax returns, something he should have expected would come up. It suggests that he is having trouble finding a comfortable narrative about himself and his answers are not as smooth as a presidential candidate should be and suggests he is over thinking his response and how the words might affect the race.

For Rick Santorum and Ron Paul, the Florida primary may be the beginning of the last act though Paul will probable soldier on to the end but the real issue is voter turnout, and with early voting already begun, given the propensity of absentee voting, much of the outcome may already be determined and only can be changed if GOP voters in high numbers turnout to the polls for this candidate field. For the state’s GOP voters are choosing their party’s champion and if you are Republican, will you weigh in on the race or just be an armchair Republican carping about the candidate field, and in the coming days ahead, we will get the answer to this question.

What about the Miami-Dade Charter questions on the ballot?

Voters in Miami-Dade have a number of Home Rule Charter questions on the Jan.31 ballot including one that would pay commissioners around $92,000, but demands no outside income and creates term limits of eight years on the 13 member body but allows existing commissioners to serve two more four-year terms starting from 2012 on. While critics complain the extra terms for the incumbents keeps them in office way to long, it is the fair way to address the issue because making it retroactive is legally tenuous but voters are getting closer to what many residents say they want.

The Watchdog Report believes this is a start but would have preferred the question be put on the ballot in August or the November General Election allowing a larger number of county voters to weigh in and that may yet be the case. Since if it is denied on this round there are actually two more opportunities in the future and commissioners are increasingly willing to put the question of salary and term limits on the ballot, after years of ignoring the issue of term limits yet wanting a raise, and it is now up to voters to decide if commissioners have yet to earn that bump in salary or not.

LETTERS

>>> Clerk Ruvin helps stop WDR IT blockage

Since it appears that it was the Judges and their JA’s that were being blocked, the problem would most likely lies with the Adm Office of the Courts’ (AOC) IT Administrator not the Clerks office. I’ve  called Sandy Lonergan, OAC Administrator, who told be that they have recently installed some blocking type software that blocks unregistered individuals and organizations. She is checking further and promised to get back to me. In any event, since we at the Clerk’s Office are still receiving the WDR , I don’t think the error lies with us. I read the WDR regularly and find it to be a valuable media and def serves a public purpose.

Harvey Ruvin

Clerk

Miami-Dade County

>>> Just read this old email, Glad you survived your health scare and are keeping an eye on things! Thanks for your work. You obviously could write a great book about the dark underbelly of the Miami area!

Christina

>>> Thank you. We appreciate you and all you do.

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S

HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.

THE MIAMI HERALD     www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)

ARTHUR HERTZ

WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)

ALFRED NOVAK

LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)

JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION  www.knightfoundation.org

THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com

RONALD HALL

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY  www.miamidade.gov

UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT   www.akerman.com

RON BOOK

LEWIS TEIN  www.lewistein.com

LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.

WILLIAM PALMER

SHUBIN & BASS     www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC.   www.camillushouse.org

CITY OF MIAMI  www.miamigov.com.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org

THE STATE OF FLORIDA    www.myflorida.gov

GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com

GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com

HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA  www.hfsf.org

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY  www.miamidade.gov

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM   www.jhsmiami.org

THE BEACON COUNCIL   www.beaconcouncil.com

THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org

THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA    http://www.firstgov.gov/

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI             www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you.   The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events.  The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report.  Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report

Est. 05.05.00

Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me.  The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact.  If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored.  Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003:  U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill:  Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.

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Watchdog Report Supporters Invoice-Form

NOTE: Invoice is for Yearly supporter/sponsorship Rates: Thank you.

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Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker

Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125

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Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> May you and your family have a reflective Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Holiday tomorrow and we should think about what this man achieved a hundred years after America’s Civil War in a non-violent way along with so many others over the past Centuries who fought the injustice of slavery and segregation in America.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Top JP Morgan economist Glassman says, “Tide is shifting” and cautiously predicts, “America is on the mend”

James “Jim” E. Glassman, Ph.D., the senior economist for JP Morgan Chase & Co. told the luncheon audience Friday attending the 2^nd Economic Summit of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce that when it comes to Florida’s economy, it is “a tide shifting and is moving in the right direction,” but will take years to get back to five percent unemployment levels. Glassman did an extensive presentation on the Great Recession and how it has not only affected a wide swath of industries around the nation with the cherry on top the over building of homes in the Sunshine State, he said at the Jungle Island event. The economist said America is becoming more attractive for corporations when it comes to factories and “U.S. manufacturing is back in the game and is on the front line” of any economic recovery. He said when it came to moving production to China over the past 15-years. “Moving jobs to China has matured,” and has slowed.

And when it came to the financial turmoil in Europe and the possible demise of the European Union. He said that “alternative plan was unthinkable,” and when it comes to economic downturns, “recessions do a lot of damage to a nations deficits.” He said so much of Europe is “scarred by turbulence and its deep history in the early 1900s” and the countries need to “work together as a family.” He noted American exports are down to Europe but up in Asia and South America and thought Europe was facing “China, India, America and South America,” as the main competitors. He said in America, we have a history of “stumbling a lot but we get back on our feet” and we are “seeing a healing process” and he believes “America is on the mend,” and also includes a “living standard on the rise” around the globe “and we are all benefiting from this” new found consumer wealth.

Glassman predicted a “mini baby boom” is on the horizon with younger people in the workforce putting off buying a home now for a variety of reasons “and the younger you are.” He said the more likely you are to “not have a job.” The economist also discussed the role of the nation and becoming energy independent when it came to oil, noting new technology has opened huge natural gas reserves around the nation and predicts this industry will be taking off since a equivalent cost of a barrel of natural gas is $18.00 and is “something staring you in the face” if you are running a business. He noted some “trucking companies are converting there short haul fleets to natural gas,” as just one example. >>>Editor’s note: environmentalists are concerned about this new Fracking Technology and its impact on surrounding water tables that many times provide drinking water for residents in the area.

>>> White House press release: As a follow up to last year’s State of the Union, today, President Obama called on Congress to reinstate Presidential authority to reorganize and consolidate the federal government, which will ensure swift action on his proposals to streamline government to make it work better for the American people while eliminating duplication, waste and inefficiencies.

“We live in a 21st century economy, but we’ve still got a government organized for the 20th century. Our economy has fundamentally changed – as has the world – but the government has not. The needs of our citizens have fundamentally changed but their government has not.  Instead, it has often grown more complex. Today, I am calling on Congress to reinstate the authority that past presidents have had to streamline and reform the Executive Branch.  This is the same sort of authority that every business owner has to make sure that his or her company keeps pace with the times.  And let me be clear: I will only use this authority for reforms that result in more efficiency, better service, and a leaner government,” said President Obama.

Almost every President from Herbert Hoover to Ronald Reagan had reorganization authority.  Too often past attempts to streamline government got caught up in beltway politics and power struggles that prevented meaningful consolidation. And more often than not, new agencies were added without taking any away. Unlike the authority granted in the past, the President’s proposal would initiate new accountability by mandating that any plan must reduce the number of government agencies or save taxpayer dollars. It would also ensure expedient review by Congress. The President laid out his first proposed use of that authority consolidating six agencies into one more efficient agency to promote competitiveness, exports and American business.  Currently, there are six major departments and agencies that focus primarily on business and trade in the federal government.  The six are: U.S. Department of Commerce’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

Consolidating these agencies along with other related programs will help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes grow, compete, and hire, leveraging one cohesive Department with one mission: to spur job creation and expand the U.S. economy. In his last State of the Union Address, President Obama noted there was more that we must do to give American businesses all they need to succeed. The Federal Government is a maze of Federal agencies with overlapping services and missions, making it difficult for businesses – and especially small ones – to find the assistance they need to export, expand, and hire.  He established the Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative to examine how we can update the Federal government to better support America’s competitiveness in a 21st century global economy.   The team reached out to hundreds of businesses, experts, current and former cabinet officials and agency heads, union leaders, Members of Congress and their staff, and thousands of Federal employees to find out what is working and what is not. Across the range of conversations held by the Administration as part of the government reorganization initiative, one theme underscored repeatedly by business owners was that  they are confused about where to go for assistance and often are unaware of services that would help them, particularly those trying to break into the export market for the first time. For additional information, please click here.

>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Condemns Chavez’ Closing of Venezuelan Consulate In Miami; Says This Retaliation Hurts Venezuelans in the U.S.

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) issued the following statement after press reports indicated that Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez will close the Venezuelan Consulate in Miami. His actions come after the Consul General in Miami was expelled for her alleged involvement in illicit activities against our national security. “I condemn the announcement from Hugo Chavez to close the Venezuelan Consulate in Miami. This is a clear attempt by Chavez to retaliate against the United States for expelling the Venezuelan Consul General for allegedly participating in a plot against the U.S.

Once again Chavez ignores the real issues at hand, which are the actions by his so called ‘diplomats’ on U.S. soil. Closing the consulate will only harm the Venezuelan community in South Florida who rely on the consulate for vital services such as visa processing. This also threatens the right of Venezuelans to vote in the upcoming elections to choose an opposition candidate to run against Chavez. Yet again, the Chavez regime undermines the democratic process in Venezuela. It is the despotic Chavez regime which is at fault.  Yet Chavez will find a way to blame the U.S. as he punishes the Venezuelan community for his heinous acts.”

>>> RECRUITER/MANAGER PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD, MONEY

LAUNDERING, AND STRUCTURING FOR ROLE IN STAGED ACCIDENT SCHEME

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Michael K. Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Division of Insurance Fraud, announced that defendant Oscar Luis Franco Padron pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h), and one count of conspiracy to structure transactions, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, for his role in a staged accident scheme.  At sentencing, Padron faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, and up to 5 years for conspiracy to structure transactions.  Sentencing is scheduled for March 30, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in West Palm Beach, Florida before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court during the plea, Padron admitted that he and others would recruit individuals who owned automobiles and had certain automobile insurance to participate in staged automobile accidents.  The recruiters coached the participants on how to stage the accident, what to say to the police officer at the scene, and how to claim that they have been injured.  After the staged accident, a police officer was called and a police report was filed.  Then, the participants filed false claims with their insurance companies, alleging that they and their family members were injured.

The staged accident participants were then directed by the recruiters to chiropractic clinics that were controlled by co-defendants.  The staged accident participants filled out paperwork falsely asserting that they suffered injuries during the staged accident.  In addition, Franco Padron and the other defendants advised the participants on how to fill out the paperwork and what to say if an insurance investigator interviewed them about their injuries or treatment.  Some staged accident participants received no treatment at all, or may have received only a short exam or treatment, but the paperwork completed at the clinics indicated that a full and lengthy exam and treatment had been provided.  Franco Padron was identified as a recruiter of patients, and he also served as an office manager who prepared forms for submission to insurance companies, mailed those forms via registered mail, deposited reimbursement checks received from insurance companies, and cashed checks drawn on the accounts of the chiropractic clinics. Franco Padron also admitted that he knowingly avoided triggering banks’ $10,000 Currency Transaction Reporting (“CTR”) requirement when converting the deposits of the mail fraud proceeds into cash.  For example, to avoid triggering the CTR requirement, two of the co-defendants would write a series of checks, typically for $9,000 each made payable to different individuals, that would be cashed on the same day, or made payable to one individual that would be cashed on successive days.

In total, fifteen individuals have been charged in two separate federal cases involving the staged accident scheme.  In the first case, in addition to Padron, the Superseding Indictment charges defendants Vladimir Lopez, Lazaro Vigoa Mauri, aka Lazaro Vigoa, Joaquin Ross, aka Joaquin Ross Vasquez or Quinito, Lisbet Leon, aka Lisbet Leon Machado, Aureliano Diaz, Carmen Venegas, Yida Bello, aka La Gorda, Gloria Patricia Cintron, aka Patty, and Veronica Riofrio, aka Vero.  Lopez and Vigoa Mauri are fugitives.  The remaining defendants have all pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and are awaiting sentencing. >>> Defendant Ross previously pled guilty on November 4, 2011. Sentencing is scheduled for February 17, 2012 at 10:30 am before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.   Defendant Bello previously pled guilty on November 29, 2011. Sentencing is scheduled for February 24, 2012 at 1:30 pm before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.  Defendants Cintron and Leon each previously pled guilty on December 2, 2011. Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2012 at 10:00 am before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.  Defendants Riofrio, Diaz, and Venegas each previously pled guilty on December 20, 2011. Sentencing for these defendants is scheduled for March 16, 2012 at 2:00 pm before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra.

In the second indictment, which was unsealed on Friday, January 6, 2012, defendants Ketty Gonzalez, Ernesto Miralles, Julio Fernandez Delgado, Alex Anoldo Flores, and Zachary Keith Stuhler were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and nine counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341.  Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CID, USSS, Florida’s Department of Financial Services, Division of Insurance Fraud, and issued a special thanks to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) for its assistance in this investigation.  The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Marie Villafaña. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Press release: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) will attend the 42nd Anniversary of the Three Kings Day Parade on Sunday, January 15. The parade, one of the top five Hispanic events in the country, starts at noon in the Heart of Little Havana, “Calle Ocho.” Diaz-Balart comments: “I look forward to participating in the Three Kings Day Parade this year; it is a great time for our community to come together and celebrate one of the oldest Hispanic events in the country. I encourage everyone to come out on Sunday and support this grand tradition.  “I would like to thank Univision for their hard work in sponsoring, promoting, and producing the parade each year. We recognize and admire their commitment to South Florida and the Hispanic community.”

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service, yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a  multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on  Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> Circuit Court Judge Leesfield, on bench since 1993, highly respected, had $1.25 million through Jun. 2010

With a number of judicial races going on for the 2012 election cycle, the Watchdog Report randomly is going to start looking at the 28 different races in Miami-Dade and the candidates for the bench and some of the incumbents. This week, it is long serving 11 Judicial Circuit Court Judge Ellen L. Leesfield in the Group 61 slot who is being scanned and she has been on the circuit court bench since 1993. She is highly respected and is said to treat attorneys the same in the courtroom whether they contribute to her campaign or not, and last week she held a campaign fundraiser in the Grove. She is running unopposed to date, is a graduate of the University of Florida, received her JD from Nova’s Shepard Broad School of Law, and passed the Florida Bar in 1979. Circuit Court documents indicate she is taking over Civil Division CA-32 Jan. 26. Her brother is prominent attorney Ira Leesfield, he is a major Democratic Party fundraiser and has held multiple events for presidential candidates including President Bill Clinton, and he is his sister’s campaign treasurer. She has raised $88,128 through 2011 after receiving 313 different campaign contributions and has loaned herself another $20,000, and has only expended $4,128.

Leesfield

What do we know about her finances?

Leesfield through June 1010 had a net worth of $1.25 million and that includes $32,000 in household goods. Her home is worth $600,000, a Mercedes Benz is valued at $23,000 and in two bank accounts, there is $90,000 and $16,000. Some of her other investments include $140,000 in UBS International, Fidelity Investments has $90,000 in it and there is $210,000 in the Florida deferred compensation fund and she lists no liabilities. Her salary as a judge was $126,733 and the only gift listed is $12,000 from her brother Ira and her Form 6 financial disclosure form with the state is what I call a benign report.

>>> WDR after almost 13-years is being blocked by M-DC Clerk Ruvin’s IT administrator, odd given his push for transparency in gov.

After almost 13-years of no problem with the Miami-Dade court’s clerk’s office that handles the IT for judges, the Watchdog Report is now being blocked by the organization’s IT administrator states the kickback response and dozens of judges and judicial staff are being blocked from reading the report. I don’t know if this is intentional or just a bureaucratic snafu when it comes to the Miami-Dade Clerk’s Office headed up by Clerk Harvey Ruvin (Net worth $1.38 million). But someone in the office might consider changing their screening criteria and unblock the report from coming in. Since, Ruvin has always pushed for greater transparency in order to have effective public policy and good government.

>>> Press release: Governor Scott (Net worth $103 million) today ordered his staff to undertake a comprehensive review of Florida’s special taxing districts to continue bringing accountability to their powers to tax, spend and incur debt at the expense of Florida taxpayers. The Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget will conduct a review and make recommendations for cutting costs and introducing accountability as directed by Executive Order 12-10. Governor Scott previously directed a review of all water management districts and hospital districts – two examples of special taxing districts.

“A major factor in our goal of lowering the cost of living for Floridians are the roughly 1,600 special districts in Florida which bring in more than $15 billion in taxpayer-funded revenues each year,” said Governor Scott. “Floridians have a right to know what they’re being taxed for and how that money is spent. This review will bring to light these questions and allow us to identify ways to save taxpayers money and increase accountability.” The following criteria will be examined for each district (excluding water management districts and hospital districts which have already been reviewed): Serving the purpose it was created for? Being governed efficiently? Levying taxes, fees and assessments appropriately? Being held accountable to the taxpayers whose lives they directly impact? Operating in a transparent manner? Prudently spending tax dollars?

Properly complying with the current level of oversight? >> “It has come to my attention that some special districts have been delinquent in submitting information about their activities. With such a significant impact on the lives of every Floridian and our economy, it is critical that we get a firm grasp on how these special districts are operating and hold them accountable,” added Governor Scott. The executive order calls for reports detailing findings and recommendations to be submitted to the Governor. View the executive order here: http://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/EO-12-10.pdf

>>> FL. AG Bondi press release: In 2010, we received more than 12,000 complaints about timeshare resale fraud—more than the next four highest complaint categories combined. Tackling timeshare resale fraud is a top priority in my office. In addition to championing tougher laws to stop timeshare resale fraud, we diligently investigate these types of cases. I am pleased to share that one of our investigations has resulted in a 188-month sentence in federal prison for a woman, Jennifer Kirk, for conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud.

Kirk, now a resident of Illinois, was operating a timeshare resale scam that stole $30 million from more than 22,000 victims across the country. Kirk owned and operated Universal Marketing Solutions, which later became Creative Vacation Solutions, from October 2007 until December 2009 when my office shut these companies down. The companies were located in and operated out of Palm Beach County… To date, 11 individuals have been charged in connection with the operation of Creative Vacation Solutions and Universal Marketing Solutions. The federal investigation is continuing into those timeshare resale scams. The United States Postal Inspection Service assisted with this investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Illinois prosecuted the case.

Florida will not tolerate people who prey on those trying to sell their timeshares. This case is a great example of law enforcement working together to protect consumers.

>>> On Monday, we will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who challenged America’s leaders to live up to the principles that this nation was founded on—freedom and equality. His passion and dedication to ensuring that every man, woman and child could pursue their dreams free of discrimination has truly made America the land of opportunity.

>>> Press release: A statement from Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO of Florida TaxWatch:

“Florida TaxWatch commends Governor Rick Scott for his focus on education, Florida’s business environment, and on making Florida highly competitive in both the United States and around the world. These issues are vital to Florida’s long-term prosperity, and were all a significant portion of our Report and Recommendations of the Government Cost Savings Task Force for FY 2012-13. This report was the product of over 50 prominent Floridians, representing nearly every economic sector, as well as the taxpayers of Florida, and offers more than $3.8 billion in cost savings for the Governor and Legislature to consider. Among the 135 recommendations are several aimed at reforming our juvenile and criminal justice systems, collecting the legally-owed sales tax on purchases made from remote vendors, and implementing robust performance measures wherever possible.  Other issues that can help put Florida back to work include boosting the manufacturing sector through changes to the Tangible Personal Property Tax laws, and reforms to the state’s property and casualty insurance system. >> We look forward to working with the Governor and Legislature this Session to ensure that Florida is the most competitive state in the nation, while at the same time making sure that Floridians’ hard-earned tax dollars are spent effectively and wisely.”

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Mayor Gimenez says balancing county’s books “has been on the backs of taxpayers,” and is over

Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Net worth $923,000) took a road trip to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Economic Summitt Friday and he fired up the business community talking about his attempt to keep the good regulations, doing away with others, while trying to streamline county government with 26,000 employees. The mayor noted this was the second time he spoke to the group, which he did right after he was elected to the top post at the end of June. He has been battling the 10 Miami-Dade unions and the county commission since then but he is having to make tough choices given the lower property tax assessment he submitted and passed by commissioners back in September. However, resolution to that dilemma is still in the works and the commission is meeting Jan. 24 to see if they can override his veto of the body’s 7 to 6 vote to not force the 5,400 employees in police and corrections from having to give up a further five percent of their salaries to cover their health insurance programs on top of other concessions already made.

Gimenez told the business leaders “it was important to hear from the business community about what government can do” to stimulate the local economy but his “overall goal was to get county government to live within its means and not to spend more than you take in,” he said. Miami-Dade is “required to balance the books” but in the past that “has been on the backs of taxpayers.” The former Miami Fire and Rescue Chief noted over $1 billion has been cut from the county and has reduced the number of county employees by over 1,000 during his time in office. He said while he has been mayor for only six-months they have gone from “planning to implementation” of restructuring and he is not done yet. Gimenez “understands the need for rules, but some are well intentioned but burdensome,” and should be reviewed or eliminated, he said. He noted when it came to the local economy, tourism was up and the Port of Miami had a six percent increase in cargo, and MIA was also an economic powerhouse and American Airlines that controls 72 percent of the gates, “had two of its busiest days since the North Terminal opened,” he boasted. Gimenez also gave a shout out to the importance of having a diverse economy like the University of Miami Life Science Park being built in Miami and while he said government “doesn’t create jobs.” He said the role for government is to “help with robust infrastructure” to facilitate business.

Gimenez

>>> Chair Martinez faces activists on Beach; against downtown Miami gambling site says attendee

County Commission Chair Joe Martinez (Net worth $238,000) spoke at the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club on Miami Beach last week and while the Watchdog Report could not attend the popular event. I did get one person’s perspective of the discussion. Mary Leggett Browning wrote the following to a fellow community activist Frank Del Vecchio and he forwarded the comments to me. “Joe Martinez arrived late and on crutches due to a knee operation. He was cheerful and remained standing on crutches all the time, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.  He said he would not sit, as he would not be able to get up again. He controlled the topics, primarily the proposed casinos (it is his opinion Tallahassee will not act on it this session because the legislature’s calendar is so full) and then the idea of a creating commuter lines on existing CSX and FEC railways.

With the casinos, no, he is not opposed to gambling but thinks it a bad idea to place destination, hotel and restaurant casinos in downtown Miami, due to impact on infrastructure, traffic, impact on existing local businesses, and overall quality of life issues.  Stating he has lived all his life in Miami-Dade, in the 1970s the county decided to remake the area as a resort destination and this is just part of the evolution.  He emphasized his objection is to the proposed location.  He was suspicious of the number of potential local jobs to be created.  He stated very few people remember comments Genting made regarding their interest in the school board property on the west side of Biscayne Blvd, and that was to build housing for workers -  implying that most of the positions were not likely to be filled by local residents.

Someone brought up Martinez’s vote to relocate and deepen the sewage pipes under the Bay.  He said that his perspective was much tonnage is landed at the Bahamas that could be coming to our port, and the added capacity to land the new super-tankers by 2014 made economic sense.  He learned after the project was approved that there are four problem areas in the existing sewage lines and there was much risk that they could burst anytime, leading to another environmental mess.  He stated that in retrospect, the cost to dredge and put the lines deeper was at a relatively minor cost (my words) relative to the corrective work which would be necessitated by a breach in the line,” wrote Browning last week.

Martinez

>>> Jordan tells residents “stop the calls” and Opa Locka airport not starting commercial air traffic

“Stop the calls,” to her District 1 county offices said Commissioner Barbara Jordan (Net worth $1.97 million) at a county commission committee meeting Monday dealing with MIA and other airports and involved a report on Opa Locka General Aviation Airport development and there will be no commercial or cargo flights going out of the aviation facility. The issue has been the talk of Northwest Dade and while new development and investment has surged over $100 million in the past few years, that flight expansion was not in the cards any time soon. Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Net worth $328,500) was impressed with some of the investments including a facility to test jet engines. Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi chimed in saying he had sent an email blast out on the past Sunday saying these “rumors” were not true and was glad the commission put the issue on the record.

Jordan

>>> State lobbying contracts discussion has Rasco getting “public flogging” says Jordan

“A public flogging,” of Miami-Dade Intergovernmental Director Joe Rasco occurred last week said Commissioner Barbara Jordan at an Internal Management & Fiscal Responsibility Committee meeting Tuesday in the commission chambers. Commission Committee Chair Lynda Bell (Net worth $308,000) put on the discussion item concerning “State Lobbying Spending.” And during the subsequent discussion Commissioners Sally Heyman (Net worth $425,000), Xavier Suarez and Bell all verbally jumped on Rasco for how his office is spending the county commission approved yearly budget. Jordan said, “I agree there is a need for change,” but “Let’s not camouflage our involvement in the process” and approval of his plan. She believed the department has “been politicized every since it left the manager’s office” and she believed this has “done a disservice” to the office. However, Heyman said that was not her intention and “her interest” was for all committee members to have the same information that she had on this subject though she noted, “I am so pleased you reduced your operateing costs.” Suarez noted that while a scorecard report is included on the lobbyists performance, excluding the “$55 million for the port dredging,” nothing else has been achieved. Jose “Pepe” Diaz (Net worth $64,200) shot back that while “You [Suarez] may be a Harvard graduate, I like the simple report card,” he said.

However, Denny Wood an advocate for people with disabilities issues and ADA compliance throughout the state and county also spoke on the subject after he was allowed too by Bell. Wood who drives to Tallahassee in a pro bono basis advocating the ADA issue thought there was no need for county lobbying contracts and questioned why Jess McCarty “could not be the chief up there” and the Miami-Dade assistant county attorney “should be in full control of people going up there to represent Miami-Dade County,” he recommended. The issue of lobbying state and federal legislators and the respective administrations has been a controversial subject the last few years and while the amount spent on the activity, around $250,000 for the state alone has been reduced. The issue is still causing a persistent discussion down at county hall in the chambers by commissioners looking for maximum impact for the taxpayer money spent.

>>> Press release: The Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB) has invited newly-appointed City of Miami Police Chief, Manuel Orosa, to a special joint meeting with the City of Miami Community Relations Board on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 at the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, in Downtown Miami. Chief Orosa will speak on the Miami Police Department’s current initiatives to enhance police and community relations to create a safer and more just community. In addition to CRB board members and community activists, the public is invited to attend this meeting, which will take place from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. For more information, please contact Amy Carswell at 305-375-1406. WHO: Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board, City of Miami Community Relations Board, City of Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa:

WHAT: Special meeting with newly-appointed Miami Police Chief on MPD community initiatives WHEN: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 – 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.

WHERE: Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, Board of County Commission Chambers, Downtown Miami

>>> Press release: BUDDING TEEN PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED FOR Miami-Dade Public Library system’s BLACK HISTORY MONTH PHOTO CONTEST

The Miami-Dade Public Library System is inviting teens, 12-19, to enter its 4th annual Black History Month Teen Photography Contest, beginning January 16 through February 11. Photographs must capture some aspect of African American architecture, art or lifestyle in Miami-Dade County; may be black-and- white or color; should be un-mounted, and no larger than 8-by-10-inches. Entries will be judged on technical quality, artistic merit and visual impact. The grand prize winner will receive a Kodak EasyShare M575 digital camera courtesy of Pitman Photo Supply; second place will receive a $50 gift card to Best Buy; and third place will receive a $25 gift card to Best Buy. Final date for submission is Saturday, February 12. For entry forms and complete rules, log on to www.mdpls.org or visit any branch library. The Black History Month Teen Photography Contest is made possible by the Miami Dolphins Foundation and the Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library.

>>> GMCVB release: RECORD ARRIVALS AT ‘THE NEW MIA’ (MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT) FOR FIRST ELEVEN MONTHS OF 2011
Passenger arrivals at MIAMI International Airport (MIA) increased for the first eleven months of 2011 with international passenger arrivals up +8.5% and domestic arrivals up +5.8% when compared to the same period last year. Total arrivals increased in the first eleven months of 2011 by +7.1%.

INTERNATIONAL MIA Passenger Arrivals

DOMESTIC MIA Passenger Arrivals

TOTAL MIA Passenger Arrivals

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> No action on Oct. board Rule prompts board Member Regalado to jump on administration, Chair Hantman more concerned about “non-compliance” of Board policy

A Miami-Dade School Board Rule that passed in October, but yet to be implemented by the school district administration limiting the number of school committees volunteers can sit on, was the talk of a school board committee meeting Thursday. Board Member Raquel Regalado (net worth $108,450) took up the charge of why this lack of implementation was still the case. The Rule sponsored by Regalado, an attorney, would limit parent volunteers to sit on only two community committees, and it is a small universe of people that would be affected by the change. One is Susan Maria Kairalla a long time school board volunteer that sits in the audience through committee and school board meetings for over a decade now and she was at the meeting when this issue was discussed working on her computer. She is school Member Marta Perez’s (Net worth $2.18 million) appointment to the citizen based Audit Advisory Committee, her most influential appointment but she is also on other committees that parents sit on the nation’s fourth largest public schools committees. However, critics have noted since the rule passed she has not dropped off any of the boards she is on and her champion Perez within the public district did not attend this committee meeting.

Regalado aggressively challenged the administration’s lack of compliance of the Rule saying the legislation “was not ambiguous,” when it was codified by the board and she chronicled what was said by other board members and legal staff when the measure passed last year. Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman (Net worth $7.7 million) said she was not so concerned about this particular item but that “The issue is non-compliance of a [passed] Board Rule,” she said. She suggested the delay may have been the fault of the legal department to clearly understand the guidelines but thought the failure to implement was being “disrespectful of a board action.” The issue has been on Regalado’s mind since the legislation was passed and she brought it up at December’s board meeting but since no progress had been made, she believed the administration was just ignoring the Board. And while Superintendent Alberto Carvalho was absent, his representative said there was confusion if they had the power to implement the policy. But it was not their intention to ignore the board but it was more of a logistic issue, though he admitted any letter that went out to these volunteers telling them the new rules would be signed by him.

Hantman

Perez

Regalado

>>> With 55 percent of 12-year olds on Facebook, cyber bullying becoming big problem

Board Member Rachel Regalado discussed a state legislator’s proposed law relating to cyber bullying that has 55 percent of 12-year olds on Facebook and some of the postings are more than disturbing. She said some of the postings might be “Why I hate someone”, other students then post their own comments, and these cyber messages in today’s social network culture can cause more than one student to commit suicide, or some other dramatic action and is a new concern for educators. Bullying and violence were overwhelmingly named the most important issue students face, a student county commission group found last year when they made their concerns known and the addition of the internet is just another wrinkle in this vexing problem plaguing South Florida and the nation.

>>> Board member Holloway has heart attack, but recovering in hospital

School Board vice Chair Lawrence Feldman (Net worth $2.5 million) told school board members at a committee meeting that Wilbert “Tee” Holloway, who had a heart attack recently, had been moved from intensive care and is beginning his recovery after the medical event. The Watchdog Report wishes Holloway a speedy recovery after this serious medical incident and he was missed at the committee meeting Thursday.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> CEO Migoya & Dr. Butler tapped for 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project induction on Monday

Press release: Jackson Health System President and Chief Executive Officer Carlos A. Migoya and Michael K. Butler, M.D., M.H.A., C.P.E., F.A.C.P.E., executive vice president and chief medical officer of Jackson Health System, will be inducted into the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project at a ceremony Monday. The ceremony is part of the group’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Scholarship Breakfast, which will be at Jungle Island’s Treetop Ballroom at 8:30 a.m., Monday, January 16th. Hosted by Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, who represents the 17th District of Florida, the celebration brings Miami-Dade’s multi-cultural and multi-ethnic community together to pause and commemorate the life of the civil rights leader and to pledge our unity to his cause, as well as support of the role models project.

“The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project has a noble mission and a proven track record of success,” Migoya said. “I am proud to be joining several other Jackson executives who are already role models, making a difference in the lives of so many young men.” >>> The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project was founded in 1993 by Wilson, then a member of the Miami-Dade County School Board. In an effort to address the ongoing crisis in the lives of many young, minority males in our community, the school board adopted the project and pledged its support. Mentors from the project – positive, successful men in the South Florida community – intervene in the lives of at-risk boys to provide them with alternatives that will lead them away from a life of crime and violence.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Civil Service Board by 3 to 2 vote upholds termination of Nation after 10 month no show, but still got $107,000 in salary

Meredith Nation, a former Miami employee and Broward resident who was told to go home by Miami CFO & interim Personnel Director Larry Spring in March 2010 and she did, but never came back, while being paid $107,000 in salary over almost ten-months, before going back to a city job and then fired weeks later. The Miami Civil Service Board denied her termination appeal by a vote of 3 to 2 on Tuesday.  The city’s Administration testimony stated that Spring (who left Miami last February) was saying go home for the day since there was not a slot for her to transfer into that she was qualified for and she was looking for a good fit in the city’s administration. But the case became another Miami Moment when the city continued to send paychecks regularly into her account even though all this time she was at home, yet still getting paid since she was a salaried employee and not on a city time clock. Testimony and board members comments at the hearing show it was a classic example of the culture that exists in the city and the lack of accountability of what municipal employees are doing to earn their taxpayer pay checks. The controversial issue has been percolating over a couple of years after Nation was loaned to the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) in 20008-09 but when she was let go from the DDA. She tried to get a job back with the city that fit her skills. However, there was nothing available that fit her qualifications, she moved into bureaucratic limbo land, her absence was only flagged many months later, and her case finally received a critical letter from Miami Attorney Julie O. Bru in December 2010 when it was finally realized she was still being paid since she was a salaried employee.

Joseph Kaplan, the Chief Examiner on the Board said there was confusion about what happened before the board voted. “The ten months of payments were wrong,” but the rub is it “can’t be determined if it was the city or her fault.” Sean Moy, a board member said he could not buy into that argument since “Spring knew about this” and she was staying at “home until he worked it out,” he said. “You all know Larry Spring was protecting her” and “all I want is for her to pay the money back and not get away scot-free.” However, Board Member Michael Dames chided the city administration saying while Nation briefly got a new job with Miami in early 2011. “It’s not like people did not know she was at home getting a paycheck [before that time]” and when the non-advertised job was offered and accepted. “You bring her back and three weeks later they kick you out the door,” which he thought was wrong. However, three members were not persuaded and they voted to uphold the March 23, 2011 termination and it remains to be seen what the city’s administration will do get this taxpayer money back (but may be difficult since Nation was a salaried employee, but the controversy in the matter continues and one milestone, the termination was accomplished in this case.)

>>> Two auditor candidates give thumbs down on job, may have been “squeamish” about joining turbulent city says Chair Suarez

The selection of a Miami Commission Auditor was deferred Thursday at the Miami Commission meeting, after two of the finalists withdrew from consideration for unknown reasons. New Commission Chair Francis Suarez (Net worth $81,131) said John Goodman and Allen Vann both backed out from the appointment and it started a lively debate about why they changed their minds and if it was the city commission’s and the city’s reputation’s fault. Suarez had planned to have a 2:00 p.m. discussion on the item and the short list of applicants was to appear before the commission but that was nixed after the men backed out. Suarez said he had a good interview with Goodman but also noted it “was a tough job and you have to want it,” he thought. But Suarez also said the candidates might have been “squeamish” about coming to the city given all the turbulence and told commissioners we should try “to create a city that people want to come too and not make them squeamish” about working here. Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones (Past Net worth $17,436) chimed in that commissioners “should try to make a real effort to meet with them [the applicants] if they are ever to select one of them.

A short list of six candidates was to be proffered but with the two dropping out Suarez deferred the issue and since there were three alternatives as well. The commissioners will review all the candidates left now. But Commissioner Frank Carollo (Net worth $707,000) voiced his concern with the appointment process. “They [some of the applicants] have voiced some frustration with the process” including some issues with the city and “we need to make a decision as soon as possible,” the CPA suggested. He further noted the commission has “been at this for five months” and a replacement for the commission auditor after Victor Igwe, Ph.D. contract was not renewed by the commission and he was terminated in June. And Commissioner Willy Gort (Net worth $226,000) suggested the process and the commission created a situation where “We scared them,” he thought. Now the candidates are expected to talk to commissioners “one on one” in the future days and a final selection is expected at a future commission meeting to get this important slot filled.

Suarez

Spence-Jones

Carillo

CITY OF MIAMI GARDENS

>>> Bandit in Brinks armored car robbery gets life in federal Big House

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce today’s sentencing of Nathaniel Moss, 33, of Miami Gardens, FL, for his involvement in the October 1, 2010 robbery and fatal shooting of Alejandro Nodarse Arencibia, a messenger for Brinks, an armored car company.  U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn sentenced Moss to life plus twenty (20) years in prison.

On October 14, 2011, Moss pled guilty to robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951, and the use of a firearm in the commission of the robbery and causing death through use of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c) and 924(j).

The robbery took place around noon on Friday, October 1, 2010, outside the Bank of America on Miramar Parkway, in Miramar, Florida.  According to documents filed with the court, at approximately 11:55 a.m., Arencibia (“the victim’), a Brinks armored car messenger, was delivering a bag of currency to the Bank of America.  As the victim attempted to enter the branch, two males carrying firearms approached him.  One of the two males, later identified as defendant Moss, wearing a bright orange traffic safety vest, held a firearm to the victim’s head.  Moss then shot the victim in the head, fatally wounding him.  The second male grabbed a bag of money belonging to Brinks.

Four other individuals, Terrance Brown, 38, Toriano Johnson, 34, Daryl Davis, 45, and Hasam Williams, 35, were charged by indictment on December 1, 2011, for their involvement in the robbery and fatal shooting.  Trial is set in that matter before District Court Judge William J. Zloch for July 23, 2012. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the Miami Gardens Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami-Dade Transit Authority, Miramar Police Department, and the South Florida Violent Crime/Fugitive Task Force.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Gilfarb and Jason Linder. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Mayor Bower snapping the whip on commission dais, she runs the meetings not commissioners

Mayor Matte Herrera Bower is becoming the Iron Lady at commission meetings after weathering a tough mayoral race last November, though she trounced the insurgents, and with possible gambling looming in Miami.  She has found her political voice within government circles around the county. Bower at a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) proclaimed that she is a “fighter” and laid into the fact the Beach wanted to be at the table early on, when it came to any traffic infrastructure changes that would affect the beach. However, Bower is having to deal with Commissioner Jonas Wolfson who is driving her crazy and making her frustrated on the dais. At Wednesday’s commission meeting the mayor a number of times told Wolfson to essentially stop talking and let her run the meeting and they verbally thrust and parried with each other that got especially heated when an employees name was brought into the discussion.

In this case, it was the fact that the city did not have a police chief since a national search had been done and the department’s number two assistant chief was the acting head of the department. Wolfson thought the commission should formerly confirm him during this search process but when he kept using the interim top cops name in the public meeting. She had enough and tried to cut off Wolfson. The commissioner said he was not trying to be disrespectful by bringing up the name but Bower thought otherwise and it had both of them apologizing in the end but it was quite a show. The protracted engagement between the two began late last year when Wolfson at a public non-televised meeting made a motion to review Miami Beach Manager’s Jorge Gonzalez’s performance. He got a second from Commissioner Dedee Weithorn on the matter, and that’s when the verbal fireworks started and its clear the verbal exchanges are continuing and reminds many residents on the Beach that when it comes to their governance. It is a verbal contact sport on the commission dais.

Bower

>>> Press release: Miami Beach Wants to Honor Women Worth Knowing -The Miami Beach Commission for Women is seeking nominations to honor local women for their contributions to the Miami Beach community.  The annual award is called “Women Worth Knowing.” Nominees must be a resident of Miami Beach for at least five years or work in a business in the community for at least five years and should be involved in civic or professional activities that have changed the community. Nominations must be received by January 31, 2012. For information or to request a nomination form, contact Wanda Ortiz, aide to Mayor Matti H. Bower, @ 305.673.7000 ext. 6487 or wandaortiz@miamibeachfl.gov.

>>> Press release: Miami Beach city commissioner Jorge Exposito will be the Breakfast Club speaker 8:30AM – 10:00AM, Tuesday, Jan. 17, David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach.

Since 1996, the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club has been gathering every Tuesday at 8:30AM at a local Miami Beach restaurant for informal, non-partisan discussions of issues – political, governmental, etc.  It is not affiliated with any other organization.  We are currently meeting at David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, between Lincoln Road Mall and Macy’s (formerly Burdine’s).  There is plenty of parking at that hour in the adjacent municipal parking lot.  One orders from the menu or simply has coffee.  Guest speakers range across the political, governmental, business, and social issues spectrum.  Sessions are open to everyone.  Simply show up. www.MBTMBC.com

Exposito

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> UM Business school Dean Anderson featured speaker at Ponce luncheon

Ponce Luncheon Group features Dean of the University of Miami School of Business – Dr. Eugene W. Anderson -Please join us for lunch Monday, January 23rd.  Our guest speaker will be the recently appointed dean of the University of Miami School of Business, Dr. Eugene W. Anderson.  We meet at noon at JohnMartin’s restaurant (253 Miracle Mile – 2nd floor.)

CITY OF HOMESTEAD

>>> Leaders break ground on $41 million military complex that provides Cat 5 hurricane protection

Press release: On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss joined Navy Rear Adm. Thomas L. Brown II, Commander of Special Operations Command South, and other senior military and civic leaders including Miami-Dade County’s Military Liaison, Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Commissioner Lynda Bell and Mayor Steven Bateman, City of Homestead to break ground for the Special Operations Command South Headquarters.  The new SOCSOUTH Headquarters will be a 125,000 square foot structure designed to house more than 400 people and provide category five hurricane protection.  “This project is a benefit to both the U.S. Air Force and Miami-Dade County,” said Moss.  “The headquarters has the ability to satisfy its Force Protection requirements and provides an additional Emergency Management Resource Center for the County.”

SOCSOUTH Headquarters is a $41 million project to be built on land leased from Miami-Dade County.  It is located immediately adjacent to Homestead Air Reserve Base and is responsible for all special operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.  Through the command’s Theater Security Cooperation Program, Special Operations Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines work closely with partner nation counterparts in order to better protect their borders.  Representing all branches of the armed forces this priority military construction project will provide needed Antiterrorism and Force Protection.  As a component of U.S. Southern Command, the location of the SOCSOUTH Headquarters was chosen because of its proximity to the U.S. Southern Command Headquarters in Doral, FL.

FLORIDA CITY

>>> Former local man sentenced by feds for bogus BP claim

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, and Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, announced that Eliu Gonzalez, 37, a former resident of Florida City, Florida, was sentenced today in United States District Court in Miami after his conviction arising from a false claim he filed in connection with the Deepwater Horizon explosion and pollution incident in the Gulf of Mexico.  Gonzalez previously entered a guilty plea to a charge of wire fraud in the submission of his fraudulent claim for more than $110,000 of lost income against the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

Gonzalez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patricia A. Seitz to a term of imprisonment of one year and one day, followed by a term of imprisonment of supervised release of one year. The Court determined that Gonzalez was unable to pay a fine. According to the allegations of the indictment, a Joint Factual Statement by the parties, and statements in court, in June 2010, BP established the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) for the purpose of administering, mediating, and settling certain claims of individuals and businesses for costs, damages, and other losses incurred as a result of the April 20, 2010 explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that had been drilling an exploration well. In August 2010, the GCCF began receiving and processing claims and BP ceased its claims processing activities related to the Deepwater Horizon incident. On October 16, 2010, Gonzalez admitted in Court that, in furtherance of a scheme to obtain money from the GCCF, he filed a fraudulent electronic claim via the internet for $110,616 in lost income, knowing the representations in his claim were false.  He is the first person to be convicted and sentenced of a Deepwater Horizon related fraud in the Southern District of Florida.

To substantiate his claim of lost income, Gonzalez provided a series of sixteen “trip tickets” from a Miami fish market that purported to reflect landings and sales by defendant of yellow tail snapper from January 8, 2010 through April 23, 2010. In a hand-written letter transmitted with his claim he also asserted ownership of a fishing vessel, the “TRUDI ANN II” and cited to “the dramatic impact of the oil spill” for financial hardship to him and loss of income and profit from his commercial fishing activity. It was also disclosed that Gonzalez provided false documentation to purported crewmen working for him, in order to support their fraudulent claims for compensation from the Oil Spill Trust Fund, one of whom actually received $24,000. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement and the assistance provided by the National Center for Disaster Fraud in Baton Rouge, LA.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Three more pill mill defendants in Operation Oxy Alley are sentenced; one gets 15.5 years in fed Big House

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announced the sentencing of three additional defendants in connection with charges stemming from Operation Oxy Alley, a coordinated investigation into pill mills in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.  Including the three defendants sentenced today, eleven defendants have been sentenced to date on an indictment unsealed on August 23, 2010 that charged thirty-two defendants.  The indictment alleged that defendants Christopher and Jeffrey George, twin brothers, operated, managed and financed four pain management clinics in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.  According to the indictment and statements made in court, from 2008 to early 2010, these pill mills distributed approximately 20 million oxycodone pills and made more than $40 million from the illegal sales of controlled substances.  Thirteen of the thirty-two defendants were doctors. Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced three defendants, all of whom had previously pled guilty in Oct. 2011 to one count of racketeering conspiracy.  Jeffrey George, 30, of Wellington, was sentenced to 186 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.  Marc Anthony Naya, 26, of Boynton Beach, was sentenced to 9 months in prison, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release.  Jason Leve, 33, of Wellington was sentenced to 8 months in prison, to be followed 1 year of supervised release.

At present, twenty-eight of the thirty-two defendants named in the indictment have pleaded guilty, including clinic owners Christopher and Jeffrey George.  The sentencing hearings are scheduled to continue throughout January and February 2012. The investigation and prosecution was the result of work by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.  FBI, DEA, IRS-CID were assisted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Hollywood Police Department, the Boca Raton Police Department, and the Davie Police Department.  Coordination efforts also included cooperation by the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office as well as contributions by the Delray Beach Police Department, Jupiter Police Department, West Palm Beach Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, Medley Police Department, Homestead Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, and Sunny Isles Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz, Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Strider Dickson. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> Operation Smoking Gun II defendant hit with 10 years in federal prison after selling hundreds of guns and drugs to ATF agents

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, announce today’s sentencing of Shea Jones, 20, of West Palm Beach, FL, in connection with an ATF undercover investigation, called Operation Smoking Gun II.  U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley sentenced Jones to 135 months in prison (15 months as to Count 1 and 120 months as to Count 2, consecutive), to be followed by three (3) years of supervised release, for his role in selling approximately eighty-four (84) different weapons to an undercover ATF agent posing as a drug dealer.

According to the charges and statements made in court, between August 2010 and May 2011, Jones sold drugs and numerous firearms to an undercover agent posing as a drug dealer.

In Operation Smoking Gun II, ATF undercover agents purchased more than 350 guns and numerous quantities of illegal drugs.  At least forty (40) separate defendants were arrested and charged in connection with this year-long undercover operation in West Palm Beach. Jones had previously pled guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, and one count of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(a)(1)(A), and Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(d) and 5871, respectively. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the ATF and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.  The case was prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Atkinson.  AUSA Stephen Carlton handled today’s sentencing hearing. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

MONROE COUNTY

>>> Fla. Heiken Children’s vision program gets funding help so uninsured children get eye care services in local schools ~ Health Foundation grant to enable 1,000 children to “see and succeed” in school

Press release: The Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program, LLC, a division of the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, has received a $53,000 grant from Health Foundation of South Florida that will enable 1,000 financially disadvantaged children in Broward and Monroe Counties who have twice failed their state-mandated school vision screening to receive free comprehensive eye examinations (including dilation) and eyeglasses when prescribed. By leveraging its current Florida Department of Health support for eye examinations and glasses with this grant, Miami Lighthouse will be able to acquire optometric instruments, maintain its mobile units, and deliver eye care services at schools.

According to Miami Lighthouse for the Blind CEO Virginia A. Jacko, “Miami Lighthouse is extremely grateful to receive Health Foundation’s support.”  She added, “It is vital for every child to be able to see the board and keep up in class, because we know that poor vision often goes untreated and leads to academic and behavior problems.”  By providing examinations at schools via a mobile eye care unit, eligible students referred by school nurses and counselors that have parent permission slips will receive free eye care. Health Foundation of South Florida President & CEO Steven E. Marcus, Ed.D stated, “The resources and support we are providing to the Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program address emerging needs. This award will help to transform the lives of hundreds of students in Broward and Monroe Counties by giving them a chance to succeed in school.” >>> Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant making organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.  By funding providers and supporting programs to promote health and prevent disease, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in the health of individuals and families. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $90 million in grants and program support. For more information, please call 305.374.7200. >>> The Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program is celebrating 20 years of providing free eye care to over 65,000 needy children and of those children examined 75 percent required eyeglasses. Miami Lighthouse has provided a synergistic relationship between optometrists, ophthalmologists and school officials ensuring that the program continues its growth in serving this underserved population of children. For more information, please contact Cameron Ehren Sisser, Manager of External Relations at 786-362-7515 or by email: csisser@miamilighthouse.org. Also visit their website:  www.miamilighthouse.org

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Elephant Forum luncheon meeting, Monday Jan.23rd 94th Aero Squadron restaurant, 1395 N.W. 57 Ave (Red Road) Speaker:  Rudy Fernandez, Vice President of Government Affairs, University of Miami – Reservations:  please call:

Mary Ellen Miller, 305 377 9187.

>>> SAVE THE DATE – www.downtownbayforum.org January Meeting Topic: The Bankruptcy of American Airlines What does it mean for Miami? January 25, 2012 – Registration opens: 11:30 a.m. Place: Wolfson Auditorium, Temple Israel at 137 NE 19th St, Miami, FL (with complimentary onsite parking) For more information please click on Tickets For Reservations please call Annette Eisenberg — (305) 757-3633.

>>> Please join us for Casa Valentina’s Fifth Annual Community Appreciation Luncheon! You are invited to help us celebrate our successes over the past five years, and to hear our plans for the next five years and beyond… Wednesday, February 8, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Elizabeth Virrick Park Gymnasium, 3255 Plaza Street, Coconut Grove *Walking tour to Casa Valentina following lunch. Our new Program Director, Karen Haag, will discuss how Casa Valentina’s new program for young mothers aging out of foster care with babies will help these youth to form secure attachment relationships with their children. If you are able to attend, please RSVP to info@casavalentina.org by Friday, February 3. Special thank you to our sponsor: Fare to Remember Creative Catering!

>>> SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER AND delancyhill LAW FIRM PRESENT 8TH ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION

The Langston Hughes Project featuring The Ron McCurdy Quartet and celebrity Spoken Word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner

South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) celebrates Black History Month with a presentation of the Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama, Twelve Moods for Jazz on Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage. The performance features the Ron McCurdy Quartet with celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner. As part of this special evening, delancyhill law firm will host their 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration with a VIP reception honoring Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss at 6:00 p.m. in the Black Box Studio. Proceeds from the VIP Reception will benefit SMDCAC’s education and outreach programs. Tickets to the performance are $30, $20, $10 ($5 tickets CultureShockmiami.com), $5 off orchestra level seats for students seniors and active military service members. Tickets to the VIP reception are $50 and includes entrance  to the performance. The public should contact SMDCAC’s Box Office at 786-573-5300 or visit www.smdcac.org. SMDCAC is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

EDITORIALS

>>> Some elected leaders just draw controversy but childish behavior on dais is a bore for hurting voters

The recent exchange between North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre and Council Member Michael Blynn where the mayor referred to Blynn’s daughters as ‘prostitutes’ is just another example of politicians gone wild on the dais but the incident is another indicator why certain politicians keep getting into controversial situations or having strange things happen to them. These two men are like opposing magnets when they get together and sharp verbal exchanges are becoming the norm. But you also had Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi having his law office catch fire and of course, there is the man who huffs propane claiming Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff attacked him and the man was listed as the victim in a police report after such an incident.   North Miami mayor apologizes for prostitution remark – North Miami / NMB – MiamiHerald.com The point is, some politicians seem to draw trouble and controversy to their door while others just don’t have all this baggage while in political office and while they say, they are just sticking to their guns and what they believe is right. It is interesting that these types of people continue to draw a penalty flag and suggests they should also look at their attitude and temperament for public office.

Civility, despite what is going on in the U.S. Congress, must be the goal if the community wants effective public policy, transparency and good government but this goal is elusive and actions and comments like these only makes that more difficult to achieve and some of this boarders on the childish and is not what voters expected when they cast their vote. In Pierre’s case, he has apologized but the Watchdog Report expects the verbal rumble will continue and it is not just in these municipalities but also all over Miami-Dade. And given the community’s demographic, this behavior serves nobody given the overall problems the community faces, like the 600,000 people without health insurance or the lack of funding for education, policing and social services for the children and elderly but these facts get obscured when these flare-ups occur pushing the concept of good government and cordiality out the door. And these leaders who pull in controversy like a Black Hole in space need to remember what Gandhi is claimed to have said. “Make it the strength of your argument, not the stridency of your voice,” and that philosophy should be your public service hallmark. Not some immature word or act that not only does your reputation in, but also is not what voters deserve or expected, when they gave you their cherished vote on Election Day.

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S

HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.

THE MIAMI HERALD     www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)

ARTHUR HERTZ

WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)

ALFRED NOVAK

LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)

JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION  www.knightfoundation.org

THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com

RONALD HALL

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov

UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT   www.akerman.com

RON BOOK

LEWIS TEIN  www.lewistein.com

LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.

WILLIAM PALMER

SHUBIN & BASS     www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC.   www.camillushouse.org

CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org

THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov

GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com

GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com

HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA  www.hfsf.org

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY  www.miamidade.gov

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org

THE BEACON COUNCIL   www.beaconcouncil.com

THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org

THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA    http://www.firstgov.gov/

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI             www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you.   The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events.  The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report.  Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report

Est. 05.05.00

Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me.  The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact.  If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information. 

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times  –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored.  Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003:  U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill:  Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.

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>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Republican debate marathon getting lukewarm reception with GOP, but have to pick one champion to take on Obama

Respected national pollster John Zogby told the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce members Wednesday by live video after he was snowed in and could not be the keynote speaker as planned, that the Iowa caucuses’ results showed the Republican Party is split into three camps when it came to the field of presidential candidates. Zogby noted that while U.S Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas got 44 percent of the independent voters it was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney who had the most to worry about because “44 percent of the voters for Romney had significant reservations” with their vote for the businessman. He said the results have already reduced the field with Congresswoman Michelle Bachman dropping out and Texas Gov. Rick Perry “reassessing” his candidacy but he since did participate in the Saturday night and Sunday morning debates bringing the field down to six. However, “For Romney there is a ceiling of 25 percent and he spent a lot of money just to get to that number” in Iowa and that effort only put him back to where he was before back in 2008 in the state. Zogby said there were “three separate wings” of the party and Paul got the “libertarians” vote, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum picked up “the Christian Traditional Family wing,” and Romney got the “moderate conservative voters.”

Zogby said the trick for Romney in the future was to stitch together these “three thirds together” saying that was going to be no easy task and “was a pretty tall order.” He said Paul would keep “this movement continuing,” and polling shows “Paul people have no second choice.” And when it came to Santorum, the pollster said the former Pennsylvania senator “will get a lot of scrutiny,” now and by only coming in second short eight votes. He is in “the worst position,” since the other candidates will be looking to pound him with attack ads and suggested he could “be like Pat Buchanan who fizzled because of lack of money and organization.” Zogby also emphasized there was “an enthusiasm gap since only 120,000 people voted” for the pack of candidates and the race “did not create a larger interest’ with the state’s GOP voters. The man closed suggesting that while “Romney won.” President Barack Obama has benefited by this contentious race and the “question will be whether Romney can unite these factions of Republicans,” he closed.

What about the debates over the weekend?

With back-to-back presidential candidate debates over the weekend, Republicans and voters are getting a strong dose of what the six men believe in and while after Iowa. The focus has been on Romney, Santorum, and Paul, with Perry, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman trailing in the polls it is not over yet. Huntsman, a former two-time U.S. Ambassador most recently to the People’s Republic of China appointed by Obama has been putting all his effort in New Hampshire and he must get a strong showing in the Granite State. If he is to be relevant in the race and while many think, he has an interesting narrative and vision. He has continued to be overshadowed by Romney, a fellow Mormon. Perry wants to shorten the time Congress is in session and cut back their pay, Paul wants the nation to pull back its military presence around the world and stop these endless wars. And Santorum supports a “National Right to Work” bill though he notes union’s per say, also contribute to communities and he worked with them in the Keystone State. However, both Romney and Gingrich have past extensive public records and the two men verbally spared with the congressional representative attacking Romney’s claim of not being a career politician. The history professor pillared the former governor saying that was the case only because he had lost the election to U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy and his time out of office was not some civic desire to go back to the private sector.

Further, when people ask the Watchdog Report about the Republican candidates and the lack of a wow factor with voter’s, one thing emerges. Republicans around the nation are like people at a dance looking at the men or women on the other side of the gym, and not only do they have to dance with one of them, they have to marry them, when it comes to their champion in the 2012 General Election against Obama. Further, while Tuesday’s election is important the big political enchilada is South Carolina and Florida primary on Jan. 31 where a candidate’s ground game (which Romney has going for him) is important. Since Florida GOP voters have already requested around 400,000 absentee ballots of which roughly 128,000 have been requested by Miami-Dade voters. But overall, there has been one persistent mantra among party members and that is, “Anyone but Obama,” a refrain I hear constantly among the GOP ranks.

>>> FIU President Rosenberg says, “We get it” and is adamant and committed to raising education expectations

Mark Rosenberg Ph.D., the president of Florida International University (FIU) in a passionate speech Wednesday asked business leaders to raise their expectations when it comes to students being educated at all of the South Florida universities and colleges at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon at Jungle Island. Rosenberg said these academic institutions must look into the future when it comes to preparing graduates for the evolving global technology and economy and the past traditional curriculum is not cutting it in this new century. “We get it,” concerning the new educational skill sets and when The Tampa Bay Times editorial board asked Rosenberg if he “was worried about having too much pressure on you and the university from the business community. He responded with “Quite the opposite,” and said “These expectations are not high enough” and low expectations when it comes to higher education of students are unacceptable. He noted we live in a “knowledge based economy” and “generating high value jobs” has to be the mission.

Rosenberg has 48,000 students at the two campuses and the university graduates 10,000 students a year, he said. And he noted 40 companies interviewed 800 graduates for jobs and hired almost 200 of them. The educator also said when it came to Florida Power & Light. “FIU graduates are the single largest cohort working at FP&L,” and when it comes to supplying teachers for Miami-Dade Public Schools. He said, “25 percent of all Dade public schools teachers have graduated from FIU.” He closed his remarks saying, when it comes to educational excellence, “we get it, and FIU will always answer the phone [when called] for this community,” he closed.

>>> White House press release: Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, issued the following statement today on the employment situation in December. You can view the statement HERE. The Employment Situation in December

Today’s employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the recession that began at the end of 2007. Most importantly, we need to extend the payroll tax cut and continue to provide emergency unemployment benefits through the end of this year, and take other steps the President has proposed in the American Jobs Act. Private sector payrolls increased by 212,000 jobs and overall payroll employment rose by 200,000 jobs in December. The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point to 8.5 percent, the lowest level since February 2009. The drop in unemployment over the month was mostly due to employment growth, not lower labor force participation. The unemployment rate has fallen by 0.9 percentage point in the last 12 months. Despite adverse shocks that have created headwinds for economic growth, the economy has added private sector jobs for 22 straight months, for a total of 3.2 million payroll jobs over that period. In the last 12 months, 1.9 million private sector jobs have been added on net in 2011, more than in any year since 2005. Nonetheless, we need faster growth to put even more Americans back to work.

Sectors with net job increases in December included transportation and warehousing (+50,200), health care and social assistance (+28,700), retail trade (+27,900), manufacturing (+23,000), leisure and hospitality (+21,000), and construction (+17,000). Local governments lost 14,000 jobs and state government employment was unchanged. The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, as the Administration always stresses, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.

>>> Press release: U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HAITI COMING TO MIAMI AT TWO-YEAR MARK OF MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE FOR REPORT ON PROGRESS THERE

With the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake just six days away, Sen. Bill Nelson said today that U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Ken Merten and other high-ranking officials will be in Miami next week for an open-to-the-public meeting on the current status of efforts to help Haitians still in need. Nelson will be joined as co-host of Ambassador Merten’s visit by U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents a South Florida House district that has more Haitian residents than any other in Congress. The meeting with the ambassador is set for 4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13, in the Miami Edison Middle School Auditorium. The meeting is open to anyone wanting to attend, and seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Also scheduled to attend is the State Department’s Haiti Special Coordinator Tom Adams and Elizabeth Hogan, a high-ranking USAID official. “There are thousands of Haitians still in need of assistance who remain separated from their families here in America,” Nelson said. “Ambassador Merten will be able to tell all of us the latest on our progress in Haiti and what challenges are ahead.” Besides co-hosting the ambassador’s visit, Nelson and Wilson also joined other members of Congress this week in asking the Obama administration to consider fast-tracking a backlog of approved visas for an estimated 15,000 Haitians who are the spouses or children of U.S. citizens. The two lawmakers signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. >>> Next Thursday – Jan. 12 – marks two years since a massive earthquake devastated Haiti killing an estimated 230,000 people. About one-half million Haitians reportedly remain homeless. A cholera epidemic has swept the island. And many Haitians have lost their lives trying to flee. On Christmas Day, Cuban officials said 38 Haitian migrants, 21 men and 17 women, had died after a boat they were in sank off the island’s eastern coast. The boat was spotted in the sea off Cuba’s Guantanamo province, some 590 miles (950 kilometers) from Havana. It was not clear where the Haitians were heading, though the Associated Press reported Cuba likely wasn’t their intended destination.

>>> Press release: U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement today disparaging the alliance between the Cuban and North Korean regimes:

“According to reports, earlier this week the Cuban regime awarded the ‘Friendship Medal’ to North Korea’s ambassador to Havana to convey the strong partnership by these two oppressive regimes. “Whether it’s Kim Jong Il or Kim Jong Un, Fidel Castro or Raul Castro, the dictatorial policies are all the same. These regimes continue to violate human rights, oppress freedom of speech, and undermine democratic principles. “A celebration of these two dictatorships might seem like something that could only be dreamt up in the minds of the dictators themselves, but sometimes their fantasies are given legitimacy by the rest of the world. This past year, North Korea and Cuba served as successive Presidents of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. The respective regimes probably couldn’t have invented anything more preposterous themselves.

“Both of these nations jeopardize global security, support terrorism, threaten the U.S., and brutalize their own people. Their alliances with one another and other rogue states must be taken seriously. As these regimes unite to promote instability and repression, so too must responsible democratic nations unite to counter the threat posed by these pariah states to global peace and security.”

>>> ROYAL WEST OWNER CHARGED IN SECURITIES FRAUD SCHEME
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that Gaston E. Cantens, 73, of Miami, was charged in a criminal Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

According to the Information filed in court, Royal West Properties, Inc. (“Royal West”) was a Miami-Dade corporation that promised to pay investors a fixed rate of return on investments made with the company. Gaston E. Cantens was the president of Royal West Properties, Inc. In this capacity, Cantens allegedly recruited individuals to invest in Royal West by promising investors that their investments would be guaranteed by properties or mortgages that acted as collateral. According to the Information, Cantens misappropriated money from investors by making materially false representations and concealing and omitting to state material facts concerning, among other things, the financial condition of Royal West, the manner in which mortgages and properties were assigned as collateral to investors, the assignment of non-performing mortgages, the assignment of mortgages that were paid in full, the proper recording of mortgages, and the recording of investors’ interests in properties and mortgages.

Specifically, the Information alleges that Cantens told investors that their moneys were collateralized by individual properties but failed to inform them that the collateralized properties had previously been assigned to other investors. Cantens received moneys from investors based on these misrepresentations, and used the moneys for his personal benefit and to further the fraud scheme. The Information alleges specific instances of fraud. For example, according to the Information, in February 2008, Cantens allegedly assigned a property to Our Lady of Belen Jesuit as collateral for an investment. In May 2008, Cantens assigned the same property again as collateral to investor “R.R.” for an investment. In addition, according to the factual proffer in the plea agreement filed today, Royal West sold the property to “V.R.” and assigned the mortgage on the property to yet another investor, “S.M.” Cantens never informed the investors, including Our Lady of Belen Jesuit, of the existence of other investors or their interests in the property. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. Mr. Ferrer also commended the efforts of SEC Regional Director Eric Bustillo and his staff for their contributions to this investigation and its successful prosecution. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney H. Ron Davidson. An Information is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service, yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel A. Ricker — Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2,500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.

This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!”

FLORIDA

>>> Will destination resort hotels and casino Senate vote be deffered because of new Bogdanoff amendments?

The Florida Senate Regulated & Industries Committee is expected to vote this Monday up or down legislation on whether to expand destination resorts and casino gambling and the vote could provide a road map of how the issue plays out in the state legislature in the weeks ahead. State Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Ft. Lauderdale (Net worth $568,000) has pushed the (SB 710) bill in the upper house side and state Rep. Erick Fresen, R-Miami (Net worth $330,000) has the bill’s counterpart in the lower house. Bogdanoff, told www.miamitodaynews.com that she has made 35 amendments to the bill and is suggesting that these new changes may delay a Jan. 9 committee meeting vote on the legislation. However, these multiple new legislation additions are being watched very closely by counties and municipalities around the state, given a statewide vote on gambling may be added to the bill or decided individually where each county might vote on the issue, not just in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

The Genting Group Malaysia started this frenzy when the company bought The Miami Herald Building and land along Biscayne Bay and the Omni building for arounf $500 million and wants to invest another $2.3 billion in a sprawling hotel, convention center, condominium, casino complex with 50 retail stores. The move has split residents and business leaders in South Florida on the matter and the topic is red hot when it comes to this civic discussion on the pros and cons and how gambling could change the social fabric of the Sunshine State. Further, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park whose district includes Orlando and Disney World is said to be cool about damaging the Florida Family Friendly brand and its core industry tourism and the House may balk at this new gambling expansion. >>> http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/07/v-fullstory/2578994/miami-dade-lawmakers-eye-gambling.html >>> www.miamiherald.com

What are the big legislative issues this year?

Further, the Florida Legislature has its hands full with an almost $2 billion budget shortfall, cuts to Medicaid, and the all-important reapportioning of the Senate and House Districts for the upcoming 2012 elections. Gov. Rick Scott (Net worth $103 million) kicks off the General Legislative Session Jan. 6 with his second State of the State Address and he is pushing for a $1 billion boost in education but the reality is state revenues are still down and this is going to be a bruising session with politics on steroids given legislators political fate is at risk. If their district is wiped out in the process and comes to an end, that now includes the inclusion of the two Fair District Amendments that passed with 62 percent of statewide voters to become the law of Florida intermingling with this political the process done every decade after new Census numbers become available showing population shifts in the state and nation.

>>> AG Pam Bondi (Net worth $472,000) press release: This week we stopped two companies for alleged fraudulent activity under the guise of providing foreclosure-rescue related services. These companies preyed on Florida’s distressed homeowners who were already experiencing financial hardships. The laws that protect Floridians from deceptive practices and homeowners during the course of a residential foreclosure must be abided by, and I am pleased that the Court granted our motion to stop these companies from defrauding Floridians. I filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary injunction and limited asset freeze against MGD Management, LLC, and CRS Marketing, LLC for misleading distressed homeowners by marketing “strategic default” services which purported to keep the consumers in their homes “for free” for three years without paying the mortgage, taxing authorities, homeowners association, or home owners insurance. According to the complaint, the companies promised assistance with the defense of their foreclosure action and represented that the fees paid to the defendants included all legal fees other than bankruptcy filings; advised consumers to ignore any communication from their lenders/creditors unless it came registered mail; and failed to provide legal services.

The Broward County Circuit Court issued a temporary injunction barring the company and its principal, Mark Dalen, from marketing, advertising or providing foreclosure-related rescue services until further order of the Court. The Court also granted a limited asset freeze on the bank accounts of the companies at issue. The injunction order requires that MGD, CRS, and Mark Dalen cease all such misrepresentations and precludes the companies from transferring any assets other than in the normal course of business. We are committed to protecting Floridians, and people who are facing possible foreclosure should not be scammed during the process of trying to get help.

>>> Former Miami Commissioner De Yurre tries for the gold, files for M-DC circuit court judge slot against Hersch

Former Miami Commissioner Victor De Yurre filed Nov.22 to run for the Florida Eleventh Circuit Court Judge Group 49 slot and he is facing Richard Hersch. Hersch has raised $72,773 for his campaign and has loaned himself another $100,000 state election department documents. De Yurre lists no money for the campaign to date and is trying to rehabilitate his career in public service, after being out of office since 1995 and dealing with a nasty divorce a few years ago. He will be the second old time Miami politician to try to get back into the political fray that had Xavier Suarez (Net worth $328,500) getting elected to the Miami-Dade Commission District 7 in late June, after multiple losing races. And both men were mortal enemies of former Mayor Joe Carollo back in the 1990s that included a controversial voter fraud investigation that had Suarez briefly mayor before the election was nullified, and he was replaced by Carollo.

De Yurre in his last commission race in 2005 raised over $436,000 for his campaign but that was a different time when Miami was becoming the laughing stock of the nation and had Suarez later getting the nickname “mayor el loco.” However, De Yurre is betting that any controversies from the past will be forgotten by county voters, and makes his own life now working as a mediator, a little more prestigious. If he pulls this off and is elected to the county’s judiciary.
Further, De Yurre also chaired a Miami Charter Review committee that had Miami Commissioner Willy Gort also on the body that drafted language for a strong mayor form of government and created the office of commission auditor and voters in a special election in 1998 passed it. However, critics said the maneuver was to force Carollo into a new election since he had alienated the five-member commission so badly, though had one of them, ex Commissioner Humberto Hernandez later ending up going to jail. http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6265 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1995-11-30/news/dollars-to-doughnuts/

>>> Press release: In observance of International Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle will host a community forum on January 9, 2012, entitled “The Faces of Human Trafficking: Myths and Realities”.

At any given time, there may be as many as 2.5 million people worldwide unwillingly involved in forced labor and the illicit sex trade. Although Human Trafficking is often portrayed as a broad national or international problem, the reality is that many of the victims of Human Trafficking reside within our communities. It is a little known fact that Florida is often ranked third in the nation in the number of victims of human trafficking. “Knowledge and understanding are the sharpest, most dependable tools in the fight against human trafficking,” commented Miami-Dade-State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle (Net worth $1.75 million). “The more we know and understand, the better we can effectively combat these crimes. This forum will allow us to tackle misconceptions and propose solutions to prosecute and deter a crime that affects so many young and promising lives.”

The forum is aimed at bringing community leaders, service providers and local, state and national law enforcement agencies together to better tackle instances of Human Trafficking in Miami-Dade County and South Florida. Through better awareness, training and legislation, it is State Attorney Fernandez Rundle’s hope that the victims of Human Trafficking can be identified and the perpetrators prosecuted. The forum will be held at the Office of the State Attorney located at 1350 NW 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, in Conference Rooms S418 –S419 commencing at 1:00 PM. >> Media is encouraged to arrive early enough to obtain the required clearance through the building’s security review process.

>>> Gov. Scott taps David Darm as executive director of the Commission on Jobs for Floridians with Disabilities and named Susanne F. Homant as the Commission’s chair.

Darm, 25, of Tallahassee, has been an analyst in the Governor’s Office of Policy and Budget since 2010. He has served on the Florida Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged since 2009, and Governor Scott appointed him as chair in 2011. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Florida and a master’s degree from Florida State University.

Homant, 66, of Tallahassee, has been the president and CEO of The Able Trust since 2007. She is a member of the board of trustees for the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Previously, she was the executive director of Florida chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness from 2006 to 2007. She received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northern Michigan University and a doctorate degree from Western Michigan University.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
>>> Commission gives thumbs down to increased police participation in health insurance payments, hundreds will be laid off to balance county budget now in 4th month

The Miami-Dade Commission after a marathon meeting Thursday shot down Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s (Net worth $923,000) move to impose further reductions with a variety of unions that are at impasse that included the Dade Police Benevolent Association bargaining agreement with the county, after passionate testimony from the rank and file that included relatives of slain police officers. The Gimenez administration had asked for further contributions of police officers to their health insurance benefits but the rank and file balked at the contributions cuts to their salary. And now hundreds of police and officers in the corrections department will be put on furlough because the county has to have a balanced budget at the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 and the mayor is livid and will veto the decision in the days ahead, he has told the media. >>> Editor’s note: See my editorial on this subject.

>>> Press release: Community Advocacy introduces monthly “FedAssist” program offering quick and easy federal services in Downtown Miami Now part of convenient “DMV To Go” program – The Miami-Dade County Office of Community Advocacy is upgrading its monthly “DMV To Go” event to include “FedAssist,” featuring additional assistance with federal issues like U.S. passport applications, housing, transportation, child support, military/veteran affairs, and more. “FedAssist” is the result of collaboration with the office of Senator Marco Rubio to bring more services to the Stephen P. Clark Center as a convenient one-stop location for residents and commuters in the area. As usual, “DMV To Go” will be available on the third Thursday of every month. Residents can sign up online at www.miamidade.gov/ocr or http://feedback.miamidade.gov/Community/se.ashx?s=57F314586FCAEBCA to renew their license and identification cards on the next available date, January 19, 2012. “DMV To Go” and “FedAssist” services will be open in the Stephen P. Clark Center lobby, 111 NW 1st Street, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. >>> Space is limited for driver’s license services, so residents are encouraged to reserve a spot as quickly as possible. Residents looking to renew their licenses or ID cards must bring proper identification with them listed on www.gathergoget.com.

>>> Commissioner Lynda Bell is giving her State of District 8 Address on Jan. 12 with the reception starting at 6:30 p.m. followed by the program at 7:30 p.m. and the event is being held at the new South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, located at 10950 S.W. 211th Street in Cutler Bay. The event is open to the public and to contact the office go to rsvp8@miamidade.gov or Click Here

>>> GMCVB press release: RECORD DEMAND FOR TRAVEL TO GREATER MIAMI AND THE BEACHES REMAINS STRONG FOR JANUARY TO NOVEMBER 2011 RESULTING IN DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES IN GREATER MIAMI’S TOURIST-RELATED TAX COLLECTIONS

The MIAMI-Dade Resort tax collections (excluding MIAMI Beach, Bal Harbour and Surfside) for January – November 2011 totaled $17,806,554 compared to $14,798,492 in 2010 for an increase of +20.3%. January – November 2011 Food & Beverage tax collections totaled $5,588,110 compared to $4,684,540 for the same period last year for an increase of +19.3%. January – November 2011 Convention Development Tax (CDT) collections for Greater MIAMI and the Beaches totaled $50,666,241 compared to $42,963,249 for the same period last year for an increase of +17.9%.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> After FIU & Miami-Dade schools compact, dual-enrollment jumps from 400 to over 3,000 high school students in first months

When Florida International University President Mark Rosenberg, Ph.D. shook Superintendent of public schools Alberto Carvalho’s hand at a school board meeting a while ago, cementing a new dual enrollment compact with FIU and the nation’s fourth largest public schools district. The university president said it all began at a past FIU football game that Carvalho went to and he approached Rosenberg and asked, “Do you think you can waive the enrollment fee?” that high school kids must pay to take university advanced courses. Rosenberg said while his response was “yes” he faced two dilemmas. One was how much would it cost “and did I have the authority,” he wondered at the time but it was worked out. He said both men through “this collaborative are focused on student achievement” and this includes significant “dialogue” between the two public education institutions. He also noted that the new dual-enrollment program between the two public institutions that in the past had around 400 students in it has now surged to over 3,000 in new enrollments at the higher education level since the program was in place, he told members of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce attending the monthly luncheon on Wednesday.

>>> Press release: MIAMI-DADE OUTPERFORMS STATE WITH PERCENTAGE OF “A” HIGH SCHOOLS ~ Miami-Dade County Public Schools outperformed neighboring counties as well as the state in the percentage of high schools with performance grades of A, according to data released today by the Florida Department of Education.

For the first time in many years, no traditional public high school in Miami-Dade was rated F. Four years ago, seven district high schools were rated F. “This is the most dramatic academic performance improvement in the history of our school district,” said Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “From three years ago, we doubled the number of A’s from 15 to 31, increased the number of B’s by 33 percent, decreased the number of D’s by 43 percent and eliminated F high schools, many of which reside in some of our most challenging and impoverished communities. Our principals and teachers deserve this community’s gratitude, respect and congratulations.”

Under the state’s expanded high school grading system, which takes into consideration student outcomes including graduation rates as well as student participation and performance in advanced coursework, 49 percent of Miami-Dade’s full-component high schools received performance grades of A this year compared to 31 percent statewide. An additional eight schools in Miami-Dade receive grades based only on FCAT scores; when those schools are factored in, the percentage of A-rated high schools rises to 53 percent. “The data demonstrates that our schools are succeeding at preparing students for college and for the work force,” said Carvalho. “These outcomes are a precursor to the future economic viability and development of our community.”

>>> With your help, Miami-Dade County Public Schools will receive up to $100 in matching federal funds for every $10 you donate.” Alberto M. Carvalho superintendent of Schools

A digital divide splits students with technology access from those without
Help us bring wireless technology to the classroom. As we look to the future, we envision every student learning in digital classrooms where traditional books are replaced with various forms of electronic media. As of 2015, any new textbooks adopted for use in Florida’s public schools must be digital; yet many Miami-Dade County public schools lack wireless technology to accommodate this.
The Foundation for New Education Initiatives, Inc., a direct-support organization for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, aims to raise $7 million by January 31, 2012 to qualify for federal matching funds for wireless improvements in our schools. Every dollar you donate will be multiplied by 10 for an ultimate goal of $70 million. Together, we can bridge the digital divide. It is our moral imperative to do so, giving all students equal access to technology and equal opportunity for success in the global society and marketplace. Please help by donating today! Thank you.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> PAST WDR: JUNE 2008: Blast from the past: PHT CEO Marvin O’Quinn’s presentation to the Miami-Dade BCC in June 2008 on the financial issues facing Jackson Memorial Health in the years ahead.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> City Mgr. Martinez says when it comes to “forgiveness of [Jungle Island] debt,” that is out of the question

Johnny Martinez, the City of Miami manager told the Watchdog Report after meeting with Jungle Island representatives Friday morning that they “are restructuring the business,” but he told them “any forgiveness of the debt” was totally out of the question with a February payment deadline looming with the county and city. As was reported in a recent past Watchdog Report, the co-owners Bern Levine, D.V.M. and Ron Krongold are working behind the scenes to strike another deal with these public institutions and while Martinez might agree to possible forgo rent owed to the city. He will not agree to anything that might mean money from the city going “out of my pocket,” he said after the meeting. Krongold was spotted earlier outside city hall around 11:45 a.m. along with lobbyists Brian May and Vicky Garcia-Toledo discussing the past meeting and while a separate $10 million note is being held by an outside bank. Martinez when I asked if the note could be called by the bank? He said that loan “was current” when it came to the payments but this leaves Miami-Dade and Miami holding the bag for what was a $25 million HUD note, part of a much larger aggregate loan the county has with the federal agency.

>>> WDR Vol.12 No.34: Leaders wondering if Jungle Island HUD note payment will be made in Feb., jobs were created but business model a disappointment

Jungle Island’s U.S.HUD note payment is coming up for the next six-month payment February and there is concern the organization cannot cover the around $1.4 million payment, forcing the city and the county to cover what is left on the principle and interest on the original $25 million note, and officials are concerned. This Jungle Island HUD commitment is part of a total Miami-Dade County HUD agreement that is over $200 million in county obligations to the federal agency and why the outstanding loans must be kept current. The attraction’s construction began in 2000 and opened in 2003 and after four years in operation and beset by hurricanes and construction near by, it had missed $4.7 million in payments that had to be paid by Miami-Dade to keep the federal loan current. And Jungle Island would later get a loan of $4.7 million from the county commission but that note is coming due in 2012. Further, Jungle Islands attendance estimates also proved high and www.miamiherald.com reported a few years ago that it ranged around 450,000 people yearly, but that was not enough to cover these obligations, but it did create 400 new jobs.

Further, during the early years since the inception, for six years there was no signed agreement between Miami-Dade, Miami and then Parrot Jungle for these HUD payments that had the county pony up the money every six months so that the much larger obligation did not go into default. And by 2006 $17.2 million was still owed on the note, and after Jungle Island could not pay its $1.44 million in property taxes in 2010 that were in the rears. At that time, Miami loaned the organization an $800,000 interest free loan, that required monthly payments of $16,667 over the four years to cover part of these tax obligations and reported in a past Watchdog Report EXTRA. And the whole process regarding the three party contract only concluded in late 2006 after three Miami Managers and three County Managers finally hashed out an agreement that had Miami with 80 percent of any obligation and Miami-Dade 20 percent.

And while Jungle Island is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this month at the new location that was the brainchild of Bern Levine, DVM and Ron Krongold who invested millions of their own money, but they also took a hefty chunk of public money to create the attraction that has had a few hic-ups over the years, like when a Liger (Half Lion and Tiger) large cat attraction, jumped the high fence and roamed freely where the public was for about an hour. The Watchdog Report has spoken to both Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $7,500) about the subject and they both indicated they were watching this issue very carefully and the matter is on a front burner. Readers should stay tuned and see how this plays out next year.

>>> Kids breaking into Grove Playhouse has mother and girl arrested Friday night by Miami PD

Some kids broke into the Coconut Grove Playhouse Friday around 5:30 p.m., it resulted in the police arresting a mother and her daughter after the mother was verbally heated with the Miami police officers on the scene and tried to remove her child from the back seat of the police cruiser. The Playhouse House also suffered some broken windows in the process that had officers using service dogs to find all the people hiding in the building. The Playhouse has been in limbo since 2006 when it was shuttered and had major debt that had employees not being paid at the time, but they eventually did get most of the money owed after County Commissioner Sally Heyman (Net worth $425,000) directed $300,000 to the organization of county money that had been earmarked for candidates applying to the Public Campaign Financing Fund. That fund after abuses in the 2004 elections, was essentially shut down after commissioners approved strict new guidelines that essentially made it almost impossible to qualify for the program. Heyman at the time at the commission meeting called this funding “surplus money” (that we now realize there never was a surplus) and I wrote about it in my Miami Herald column back then, but it did help the employees be financially made whole.

>>> Press release: MIAMI-AREA PATIENT RECRUITER SENTENCED TO 57 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR PARTICIPATING IN MEDICARE FRAUD KICKBACK SCHEME

The owner and president of a Miami-area transportation company was sentenced yesterday to 57 months in prison for her role in a Medicare fraud kickback scheme that funneled patients through a fraudulent mental health company, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), announced the Department of Justice, FBI and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Isabel Roque was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael K. Moore in the Southern District of Florida. In addition to her prison term, Roque was sentenced to three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $3.8 million in restitution jointly and severally with co-conspirators. Roque, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Roque was the president of Isa & Yami Inc., which purported to provide patient transportation services in Miami. According to court documents, Roque agreed to provide Medicare beneficiaries to ATC for partial hospitalization program (PHP) services in exchange for kickbacks. PHP services are used as a form of intensive treatment for patients with severe mental illness. ATC purported to operate PHPs in seven different locations throughout south Florida and Orlando. According to court documents, Roque provided Medicare beneficiaries to four of ATC’s locations, including facilities in Boca Raton, Broward, Homestead and Miami.

Roque admitted that she knew the beneficiaries whom she referred to ATC did not need PHP treatment. Roque also knew that ATC fraudulently billed the Medicare program for the PHP services provided to the beneficiaries she referred. According to court documents, Roque also paid kickbacks to the beneficiaries whom she referred to ATC in exchange for those beneficiaries agreeing to attend ATC. According to court filings, ATC’s owners and operators paid kickbacks to owners and operators of assisted living facilities and halfway houses and to patient brokers in exchange for delivering ineligible patients to ATC and its related company, the American Sleep Institute (ASI). In some cases, the patients received a portion of those kickbacks. Throughout the course of the ATC conspiracy, millions of dollars in kickbacks were paid in exchange for Medicare beneficiaries who did not qualify for PHP services. The ineligible beneficiaries attended treatment programs that were not legitimate so that ATC and ASI could bill Medicare more than $200 million in medically unnecessary services. According to the plea agreement, Roque’s participation in the fraud resulted in more than $3.8 million in fraudulent billing to the Medicare program.

ATC, its management company Medlink Professional Management Group Inc., and various owners, managers, doctors, therapists, patient brokers and marketers of ATC, Medlink and ASI, were charged with various health care fraud, kickback, money laundering and other offenses in two indictments unsealed on Feb. 15, 2011. ATC, Medlink and nine of the individual defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial… The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. >>> Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,160 defendants that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $2.9 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Mayor Bower disagrees Mgr. Gonzalez is leaving, activists say gambling & convention center top issues on Beach

Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower is seeing a lot of political turbulence the last few weeks and when it comes to the discussion of Manager Jorge Gonzalez’s fate in March. She is fielding questions from the public on the matter. The Watchdog Report contacted David Kelsey who organizes the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club and had Bower as its speaker last week asking how it went. In an email on how the gathering was he wrote it “went well, she pulled a good crowd. She was questioned about manager leaving but said she did not think it would happen. And the discussion prior to her arrival noted two big issues for the New Year: 1st: gambling and its effect on Miami Beach, and 2nd: Benefit of a two billion convention center expansion ($650 million construction cost, plus cost of money). There is a lot of doubt about both issues,” wrote Kelsey.

However, Commissioners Deede Weithorn and Jonah Wolfson may have other ideas after a review of the manager came up at a public non-televised meeting where Weithorn seconded the motion to get rid of Gonzalez and was brought forward by Wolfson. That action by the commissioners has drawn an investigation if the Sunshine Law was broken by the two legislators and had they discussed the issue prior to this public meeting. They maintain www.miamiherald.com the two did not discuss the matter prior to the meeting last month and they say there was no violation of the law, but the state attorney’s office has confirmed there is an active investigation on the matter.

>>> Press release: Miami Beach Wants to Honor Women Worth Knowing
The Miami Beach Commission for Women is seeking nominations to honor local women for their contributions to the Miami Beach community. The annual award is called “Women Worth Knowing.” Nominees must be a resident of Miami Beach for at least five years or work in a business in the community for at least five years and should be involved in civic or professional activities that have changed the community. Nominations must be received by January 31, 2012. For information or to request a nomination form, contact Wanda Ortiz, aide to Mayor Matti H. Bower, @ 305.673.7000 ext. 6487 or wandaortiz@miamibeachfl.gov.

>>> County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez will be the Breakfast Club speaker, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, 8:30AM – 10:00AM, David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach. >>> Since 1996, the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club has been gathering every Tuesday at 8:30AM at a local Miami Beach restaurant for informal, non-partisan discussions of issues – political, governmental, etc. It is not affiliated with any other organization. We are currently meeting at David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, between Lincoln Road Mall and Macy’s (formerly Burdine’s). There is plenty of parking at that hour in the adjacent municipal parking lot. One orders from the menu or simply has coffee. Guest speakers range across the political, governmental, business, and social issues spectrum. Sessions are open to everyone. Simply show up. www.MBTMBC.com

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Press release: The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), in partnership with the Miami-Dade Public Library System, will bring motorist services to the Coral Gables Branch Library – 3443 Segovia Street in Coral Gables. The mini-Florida Licensing on Wheels (FLOW) will visit the branch every second Monday of the month beginning Monday, January 9, 2012, from 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Mini-FLOWS are a convenient way to renew a driver license, change a name or address on a driver license, get an identification card, and renew vehicle registrations. To find out what documents are required, visit www.GatherGoGet.com or call 850.617.3995. Cash, personal checks, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cards are accepted. To learn more about the DHSMV and their services, visit www.flhasmv.gov. For library information, visit www.mdpls.org

>>> Momentum Dance Company Performs: Camille Saint Saens’ CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS – Program I in the 2012 Children’s Library Series – Saturday, January 14, 11:00 AM -At the Coral Gables Library 3443 Segovia Ave. For Information, phone the Library at 305-442-8706 – Free & Open to the Public
Seating is Limited, Arrive Early.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Press release: Tax preparer gets hit with 2-years for filing bogus tax returns

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, announced that defendant Thomas Michael O’Rourke, of Plantation, was sentenced today before U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen M. Williams in connection with criminal tax violations related to his Broward County-based tax preparation business. O’Rourke previously pled guilty to five counts of filing personal false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, for tax years 2002 to 2006, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1). Defendant O’Rourke was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 1 year of supervised release. In addition, O’Rourke was ordered to continue to cooperate with the IRS in the filing of corrected tax returns and pay any taxes that may be owed for tax years 2002 through 2006, which according to court records is approximately $358,364.

According to court documents, O’Rourke used a fraudulent scheme to enrich himself through the preparation and filing of his clients’ tax returns. Beginning in the late 1990′s and through 2008, O’Rourke owned a tax preparation business in Broward County, Florida, through which he fraudulently represented himself to clients and potential clients as a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”) although he never held such a license. During each of the years 2002 through 2008, O’Rourke prepared two sets of tax returns for his clients. The first return, which he showed to the client, generally reported a refund due to the client. This tax return was not actually filed with the IRS. O’Rourke then prepared a second, false return, and filed it with the IRS through a third party (the “E-filer”) that he had retained to submit returns electronically. This second return showed a larger refund due to O’Rourke’s client. The difference between the expected refund and the larger, fraudulently obtained refund actually paid by the IRS was disbursed by the E-filer to O’Rourke as tax preparation and other fees that the E-filer had been led to believe were owed to O’Rourke. O’Rourke failed to report as part of his gross income at least $1 million he had received from the dual tax return scheme on his personal U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, Forms 1040, for tax years 2002 to 2006. The tax loss amount is approximately $358,364. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard P. Murad. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

CITY OF HOLLYWOOD

>>> Ex Miami police officer busted in embezzlement scam

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Miami Field Office, Richard Walker, Special Agent in Charge, United States Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), announce the indictment of Vernell Reynolds, a former City of Miami police officer and former president of the Miami Community Police Benevolent Association (MCPBA), on charges stemming from her embezzlement of MCPBA funds. On January 5, 2012, Reynolds, 46, of Hollywood, Florida, was indicted on sixteen counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the offenses, including more than $200,000. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of thirty years’ imprisonment for each count of wire fraud.

According to the allegations in the indictment, the MCPBA is a private association of Miami law enforcement officers that operates in Miami-Dade County. To conduct its affairs, the MCPBA maintained two credit union accounts. The funds contained in the MCPBA credit union accounts consisted primarily of the monthly dues of the MCPBA members. The funds in the accounts were held in trust for the benefit of the MCPBA. In 2005, Reynolds became the president of the MCPBA. As president, Reynolds had signature authority over the MCPBA credit union accounts. Reynolds also possessed and used an ATM/debit card that accessed the MCPBA credit union accounts. The indictment alleges that as early as September 2008, Reynolds began stealing money from the MCPBA accounts and using it for her own purposes. Reynolds’ scheme continued through June 2010. According to the indictment, Reynolds made unauthorized withdrawals from the MCPBA credit union accounts, made unauthorized personal purchases with MCPBA funds and transferred MCPBA funds from the MCPBA accounts to her personal credit union accounts.

The indictment alleges that some of these unauthorized withdrawals occurred at casinos located in South Florida and on at least one occasion in California. Reynolds failed to disclose her unauthorized withdrawals, purchases and transfers to the MCPBA members and presented false financial information to the MCPBA members to conceal her fraud. >>> Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the FBI, the DOL-OIG and IRS-CI. Additionally, Mr. Ferrer thanked the City of Miami Police Department Internal Affairs Section, Anti-Corruption Unit for their significant work on this matter and for their full cooperation throughout the investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared E. Dwyer. >>> An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> Press release: Eight people sentenced in Broward & Palm Beach in pill operation, part of Operation Oxy Alley

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announced the sentencing of eight defendants in connection with charges stemming from Operation Oxy Alley, a coordinated investigation into pill mills in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The eight defendants sentenced to date were charged with twenty-four other defendants in an indictment unsealed on August 23, 2010. The indictment alleged that defendants Christopher and Jeffrey George, twin brothers, operated, managed and financed four pain management clinics in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. According to the indictment and statements made in court, from 2008 to early 2010, these pill mills distributed approximately 20 million oxycodone pills and made more than $40 million from the illegal sales of controlled substances. Thirteen of the thirty-two defendants were doctors.

Today, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra sentenced four defendants, all of whom had previously pled guilty in Oct. 2011 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Theodore Obermeyer, 30, of West Palm Beach, was sentenced to 144 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Pedro Martinez, 35, of Royal Palm Beach, was sentenced to 60 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Vernon Atreidis, M.D., 46, of Fort Lauderdale, was sentenced to 66 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Jack Martin, 48, of North Palm Beach, was sentenced to 9 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Previously, on December 16, 2011, Judge Marra sentenced four other defendants. Andrew Harrington, 31, of Deerfield Beach, was sentenced to 97 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release.

Harrington pled guilty on October 3, 2011 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Daryl Michael Stewart, 44, of West Palm Beach, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Stewart pled guilty on September 29, 2011 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Derik Nolan, 34, of Wellington, was sentenced to 168 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Nolan pled guilty on October 5, 2011 to one count of racketeering conspiracy. Matthew Siss, 25, of Jupiter, was sentenced to 9 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Siss pled guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy on October 6, 2011. At present, twenty-eight of the thirty-two defendants named in the indictment have pleaded guilty, including clinic owners Christopher and Jeffrey George. The sentencing hearings are scheduled to continue throughout January and February 2012.
The investigation and prosecution was the result of work by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. FBI, DEA, IRS-CID were assisted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Hollywood Police Department, the Boca Raton Police Department, and the Davie Police Department. Coordination efforts also included cooperation by the Palm Beach State Attorney’s Office as well as contributions by the Delray Beach Police Department, Jupiter Police Department, West Palm Beach Police Department, Boynton Beach Police Department, Medley Police Department, Homestead Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department, and Sunny Isles Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul F. Schwartz, Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Strider Dickson. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

MONROE COUNTY

>>> Two more people busted and sentenced by feds in Keys lobster case

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, announced that Rush C. Maltz, 36, of the Saddle Bunch Keys, and Titus A. Werner, 36, of Little Torch Key, both pled guilty yesterday in federal District Court in Key West on charges of having conspired to receive, purchase, sell, and transport quantities of lobster for distribution in interstate commerce, without complying with Florida law regarding commercial harvest requirements, licensing provisions, and bag and trip limits essential to the lawful harvest, possession, and sale of saltwater products, in violation of the Lacey Act, all in violation of the federal conspiracy statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. In a subsequent proceeding also held yesterday, their co-defendant Scott A. Greager, 48, of Stock Island, Florida, was sentenced on the same charge.

U.S. District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez accepted the guilty pleas and scheduled sentencing for Maltz and Greager for March 27, 2012 in Key West at 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., respectively. The defendants face up to five years’ imprisonment and a term of supervised release of up to three years, as well as a criminal fine of up to $250,000. Additionally, defendant Maltz is subject to the forfeiture of the proceeds of the sale of two vessels used in furtherance of the criminal offenses. Judge Martinez sentenced Scott Greager to a period of 90 days’ imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release with a special condition requiring Greager to serve one year of electronically monitored home detention. Greager received a reduced sentence as a result of his substantial assistance to the government, which according to statements in court, was a significant factor in the entry of the guilty pleas by Maltz and Werner.

According to court records, factual statements placed in the record by the parties, and statements made during the hearing, from as early as May 28, 2007 through approximately March 2009, Scott Greager was the sole Director, Officer, Registered Agent, and owner of Holiday Seafood Key West (Holiday), a Florida corporation with its principal business address on Tamarind Drive in Key West. Utilizing a Florida Wholesale Dealer’s License issued in the name of Conch Republic Seafood Company, Greager knowingly made numerous purchases of spiny lobster over the time frame of the conspiracy from Maltz and Werner. These purchases involved the harvest and sale of lobster in excess of the Florida legal daily limit of 250 lobsters. The three defendants also admitted that Greager made payments from an account in the name of Holiday to Maltz and Werner, which they attempted to conceal from the State of Florida by issuing required trip tickets in the name of an unwitting third party. To further limit the likelihood of detection by authorities, the co-conspirators regularly landed lobster that was attributed to harvests from two different vessels – although both were owned by Maltz and operated by the co-conspirators.

According to defendant Greager’s Joint Factual Statement, on seven separate occasions in August 2008, Maltz and Werner made multiple sales to Greager of spiny lobster harvested on the same day using Maltz’ See Vee and T-Craft. Those seven days of multiple transactions, apart from the other illegal sales, represented more than 5,000 pounds of lobster with a wholesale value of almost $40,000. The entire two-year course of conduct involved more than $263,000 in illegally harvested and sold lobster. During the relevant period, Florida Statutes and the Florida Administrative Code set strict requirements for commercial harvest limits on Florida spiny lobster. Florida law also required certain licenses and endorsements for a seafood product harvester to lawfully operate in the State. Wholesale dealers, such as Greager and his business, Holiday, were prohibited from purchasing lobster without first confirming that the seller possessed all required licenses and endorsements, and thereafter making truthful and accurate reports of the transactions to the State. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the NOAA Office for Law Enforcement and thanked the Officers of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission who assisted in bringing the case to our office. The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Please join us for Casa Valentina’s Fifth Annual Community Appreciation Luncheon! You are invited to help us celebrate our successes over the past five years, and to hear our plans for the next five years and beyond… Wednesday, February 8, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm, Elizabeth Virrick Park Gymnasium, 3255 Plaza Street, Coconut Grove *Walking tour to Casa Valentina following lunch. Our new Program Director, Karen Haag, will discuss how Casa Valentina’s new program for young mothers aging out of foster care with babies will help these youth to form secure attachment relationships with their children. If you are able to attend, please RSVP to info@casavalentina.org by Friday, February 3. Special thank you to our sponsor: Fare to Remember Creative Catering!

>>> SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER AND delancyhill LAW FIRM PRESENT 8TH ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
The Langston Hughes Project featuring The Ron McCurdy Quartet and celebrity Spoken Word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner

South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (SMDCAC) celebrates Black History Month with a presentation of the Langston Hughes Project, Ask Your Mama, Twelve Moods for Jazz on Thursday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m. on the main stage. The performance features the Ron McCurdy Quartet with celebrity spoken word artist Malcolm Jamal-Warner. As part of this special evening, delancyhill law firm will host their 8th Annual Black History Month Celebration with a VIP reception honoring Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss at 6:00 p.m. in the Black Box Studio. Proceeds from the VIP Reception will benefit SMDCAC’s education and outreach programs. Tickets to the performance are $30, $20, $10 ($5 tickets CultureShockmiami.com), $5 off orchestra level seats for students seniors and active military service members. Tickets to the VIP reception are $50 and includes entrance to the performance. The public should contact SMDCAC’s Box Office at 786-573-5300 or visit www.smdcac.org. SMDCAC is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

EDITORIALS

>>> The dye is cast; hundreds of county employees will start to hit the streets after BCC shoots down Mayor Gimenez’s union contracts concessions

The dye is cast after Miami-Dade County Commissioners voted 7 to 6 to shoot down Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s proposals Thursday to increase a number of unions members contributions for their healthcare by giving up 5 percent of their salary and that act is now forcing the mayor to institute hundreds of layoffs of the 26,000 county employees with the first batch of pink slips going out this week. The county commission when it approved giving Miami-Dade taxpayer’s property tax breaks back in September at the budget hearings knew hard choices were going to have to be made, but the mayor’s goal was to mitigate the number of county employees put on the streets by them making concessions via their union contracts. But a variety of the 10 county unions have not gone along with the program, membership has rejected some new contracts and now police and corrections officers, the biggest block of workers in collective bargaining units with around 5,400 employees, will have to be reduced by hundreds of people in the weeks ahead.

Commissioners on the prevailing side argued it was just a question of priorities and in the case of the police union members. The elected leaders believed the mayor’s administration could have found the $18 million in money and it was just a matter of priorities given the size of the county budget. However, with the clock ticking into the fourth budget month and cash going out the door at the old rate and the county required by state law to have a balanced budget by the end of the fiscal year Sept.30. Drastic fiscal moves are going to have to be made now by the mayor’s administration, this is about real people being let go, and everyday that goes by without a global resolution to the matter will only make the fiscal hole deeper for all employees at Miami-Dade County.

Gimenez has said he will veto the issue after the marathon commission meeting where commissioners listened to over seven hours of heart wrenching testimony of the danger law enforcement officer’s face on a daily basis. But the rubber is meeting the road and while many ideas were suggested during the public hearing on how to raise more revenue, like going after people cheating on their homestead exemptions or code violation fines owed. This is not real money in hand, and in the years ahead might be available, but this crisis and fiscal hemorrhaging continues, and everyday that goes by almost compounds the problem and the dilemma is how to get this resolved and put to bed before it becomes too late. A fiscal situation that is fast approaching in what almost appears to be a game of political chicken that will have only the community in a wide swath of ways paying the final price.

LETTERS

>>> Reader on Medicare fraud in S. Florida and its past history

Re: the 1/1/12 Watchdog Report piece on fraud in S. Fl. >> Two things: 1) Florida statutes incentivizied insurance companies to pay claims promptly by creating somewhat stiff penalties for failing to promptly pay claims when it appears they reasonably should be paid. Although this may have led to some fraud in the wake of Hurricane Andrew, the state considers it better public policy to get money promptly into the hands of those insurance claimants who need the money than to allow insurers to hold onto money, unless the insurer has a very good reason to deny the claim. It is a cost of doing business in this (and many other states). As with Medicare, property and casualty insurers can always pursue fraud charges after prompt payment of questionable claims.

2) While it may be true that “Here in Miami around 2003, the local U.S. Attorney’s office created its first FBI Medicare fraud detail”, the local U.S. Attorney’s office has made Medicare fraud a priority since the early 1990s. As a young lawyer, I was asked to do a story for the Dade Bar Bulletin about the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Kendall Coffey, wherein he emphasized that Medicare fraud was a new focus for his office. Unfortunately, it appears that many of the fraudsters may even be agents of the Castro regime who flee back to Cuba when arrest is imminent or when released on bail after stealing millions from the U.S. >>> Happy New Year to you and keep up the good work.

>>> Posted on http://fsamnews.blogspot.com: Attached a link http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx to an interesting article titled “Stronger form of Oxycodone means more pain for the US” published in the Sun Sentinel on December 29th, 2011.
In this commentary the author points out that “several drug companies are completing FDA trials to introduce a new, much stronger form of Oxycodone to the $10 billion opiate prescription drug market in 2013. Unlike the more than 400 opiate painkillers already on the market that blend the powerful narcotic with other medications, the new drug is solely composed of pure Oxycodone. It will be very potent, delivering up to 10 times more pain relief than present prescriptions.”
Whereas all of us are struggling to contain the prescription drug epidemic, pharmaceutical companies, driven by the profit motive, seem to have found a business opportunity to sell more powerful narcotics to the ever growing number of opioid dependent addicts.

Therefore, I agree with the authors’ conclusion: “If tobacco companies are forced to contribute a portion of each sale of a cigarette pack to pay for the effort to curb tobacco use and the financial and medical consequences cause by American smoking cigarettes, why not the manufacturers of the most abused addictive prescriptive drug in the United States? It is time to make politically powerful drug companies responsible and accountable for their destructive products. They, not U.S. taxpayers, should have to bear the brunt of the financial and social burdens from rampant illegal misuse of Oxycodone.”

Bernd Wollschlaeger, MD, FAAFP, FASAM

>>> Happy New Year Dan.

Bill

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

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The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
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Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker

Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125
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>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> This week’s Watchdog Report is a blend of the past year’s important stories and a few new ones for the past week. May you and your family and friends have a Great, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> “Mother Ayers after county mayor’s office sit-in gets her five-pay period of back pay from Miami-Dade to the tune of $277,000 before Christmas

In last week’s Watchdog Report, I wrote about the Georgia Ayers Occupy Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s office and by my deadline last week. I did not know if it had been resolved satisfactorily. In an email Tuesday county communication representative Suzie Trutie wrote, “I wanted to update you on the funding for The Alternative Program, founded by Ms. Ayers. The County wired $277,000 to The Alternative Program on Friday, December 23rd, wrote the assistant director if communications for the county.

>>> PAST JAN. WDR : Now, both U.S. Reps elect in the spotlight, Rivera in Herald investigative story, Wilson in Watchdog Report for financial disclosures

Miami’s two newly minted U.S. congressional representatives are under fire, after U.S. Rep. elect David Rivera, R-Miami got a front page story in www.miamiherald.com Friday, and U.S. Rep. elect Fredericka Wilson, D-Miami finances has been profiled in the www.watchdogreport.net the last two weeks and in her case, with property values collapsing, there is no way her listed properties are the values she lists on the yearly state disclosure forms for 2008 and 2009, yet the mortgage remains the same and no rent income is listed. Both won their office with great fanfare, but Wilson, elected to Florida Congressional District 17 drew early attention after saying she would ask to be able to wear her trademark hats in the U.S. House Chambers, against the rules, but decided against it, after a firestorm of criticism in the media and by political pundits.

Wilson

Rivera

What about Rivera’s committee assignments in the House?

Rivera in The Herald story is saying he did not get any money from Flagler Dog Track officials that had three payments totaling $510,000 going to Millennium Marketing, that has his mother and godmother as corporate officers, to get slots passed in Miami, and it looks bad to say the least. Further, Michael Putney, senior political reporter for WPLG Channel 10 www.justnews.com has called for Rivera to disclose his IRS 1040s and end the matter before he is sworn in Jan. 5 and this issue will dog Rivera in the comings days ahead if not addressed. Also, Rivera has gotten two plum committee assignments, he is on the Foreign Affairs Committee soon to be chaired by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami and he also is on the Natural Resources Committee given his congressional District 25 spans across the Everglades and the billions of federal dollars needed to clean-up the River of Grass in the coming years.

What about Wilson’s four real estate holdings?

Wilson owned four properties during 2009 and her home was purchased for $492,000 in Sept. 2007 and is now valued at $400,000 on her disclosure forms, and a second home valued at $150,000 on the disclosure, currently has a value of around $97,000. A duplex property had one of the addresses being sold in May for $75,000, though the current owner is “motivated,” to sell it again and a forth property valued by the lawmaker at $75,000 was sold for $62,000 this past July.

What about any rental income?

Wilson, with these four properties, one of which is a duplex, lists no rent as having come in during this two-year reporting period and while the properties depreciation in value is understood, it is a puzzle that she did not receive any rental income from these properties. Since it is safe to say, she lives in her primary home, a six bed, four bath 3,419 square feet house on a 7,500-foot lot, where property taxes were around $8,804, and the new home was built by builder D.R. Horton. And she may have to explain how she has been able to carry these homes financially if they were in fact vacant, but either way, she has a cloud hanging over her head when it comes to these disclosure forms that needs to be resolved. Readers should stay tuned. >>> Jan.1 2012: Miami New Times updated the story this week on local federal elected leaders net worth: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/12/david_rivera_has_8000_frederic.php#more

>>> OCT: WDR: S. FL is #1 when it comes to fraud in all its forms, $60 billion in Medicare alone lost through scams around America

This week’s Watchdog Report will be dedicated to fraud, waste and abuse of public dollars in all forms and South Florida is ground zero for such wayward activity. Further, fraud of public programs is such a problem we are where fraudsters do their beta sites and once perfected, export these scams to other parts of the United States. Last week, a man found out the risk for such a crime when a federal judge sentenced him to 50-years in prison after stealing $205 million in Medicare dollars. The federal Medicare and state Medicaid programs are “pay and chase” said the top FBI SAC John V. Gillies at a fraud forum last year at UM and until that changes. Scam artists will continue to try to bilk the programs vital to the health and welfare of Miami-Dade residents.

However, South Florida got its first taste of widespread fraud after Hurricane Andrew (or St. Andrew as some people call it for all the money it brought to the devastated county, but also had around 40 residents killed) back in Aug. 1992. And it is fair to say the bulk of Dade residents affected did very well with their insurance policies that had many of the companies being very cooperative. Since the disaster was so bad and could have been a public relations nightmare for the companies at the time. However, the lack of aggressive prosecution of windstorm insurance fraud back then seems to have opened the floodgates to fraud and all types of scams from mortgages, to Pill Mills have become rampant. From Palm Beach south and in Tampa where prosecutors are also doing a high volume business busting these people.

Here in Miami around 2003, the local U.S. Attorney’s office created its first FBI Medicare fraud detail that has grown to now two details, and these prosecutors and investigators form the backbone in this war on bilking the system, and are said to be the most experienced in the nation, after all the cases they have prosecuted over the years. The cost of the fraudulent activity is well over $60 billion a year nationally and that is not chump change when it comes to scarce public dollars. Further, this amount of fraud is a nightmare for our elected leaders at the state and federal level and why to a certain extent the federal government has been so reluctant to properly fund the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Since up to 20 percent or more of the around $10 billion needed was projected to go to administration and waste, fraud and corruption said experts, and with billions of dollars involved. It made it easy for federal lawmakers nationwide to shoot down this needed funding given the reputation the area has and why it is not just the money, but also the fiscal black eye it gives the region on a national scale when it comes to how these funding dollars get spent.

>>> PAST WDR: Nov. 2008: Green Iguana non-protected, exploding in population, but also a food getting around $12.00 a pound in some countries

The Green Iguana, an exotic and non-protected species in Florida, rapidly populating, causing some local governments to regulate the pests was the meal for the day Wednesday at Fairchild Tropical Gardens on a beautiful clear morning, which highlighted the gardens natural beauty. A staff member from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission detailed the history of the iguana coming to Florida from South and Central America and these first arrived here in Coral Gables and Hialeah in 1965. The species would then spread along the east coast of the state hitting Broward in the later years and the west coast of Florida in 1990’s said Scott Hardin, a commission exotic species coordinator.

What about the Nile monitor and Burmese python?

Bruce Greer, the chair of the Gardens oversight board welcomed the 33 attendees and he noted it was a topical subject and he had just recently spotted a Nile monitor near his home in Pinecrest. The Nile monitor and Burmese pythons have expanded their population in the Everglades especially over the years and the species have few predators to keep the numbers under control. One participant in the audience stated a biologist had done a study and estimated there could be “up to 60,000” (The Watchdog Report questions this number, but there is no question there are a lot of them out there) of these pythons in the River of Grass, but it could be the monitors capable of chasing down children and pets that could be the bigger problem to residents and the environment in the future.

>>> Nile monitor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search
Nile Monitor

Conservation status

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large member of the monitor lizard family (Varanidae). Nile monitors grow to about 1.5 to 2 meters (4.5 to 6.5 feet) in length. They have muscular bodies, strong legs and powerful jaws. The teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors they have a forked tongue, with highly developed olfactory properties. Their nostrils are placed high on the snout, indicating that these animals are highly aquatic, but are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land. Nile monitors feed on fish, snails, frogs, crocodile eggs, birds, small mammals, large insects, and carrion. In Southern Africa they are commonly referred to as “leguaan”, from the Dutch for iguana. [edit] Range -Nile monitors live throughout Africa except for desert regions. They have also been introduced to Florida.[1] In June 2007, they were sighted in and near Sanibel, Florida. In July 2008 one was spotted in Homestead, FL.[2] One 6′ long monitor was found in Oregon in September 2008.[3]

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly
To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel A. Ricker — Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2,500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.

This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!

FLORIDA

>>> PAST SEPTEMBER WDR: State Sen. Diaz de la Portilla in the spotlight, elected in 2010 to replace brother Alex, had $486,000 net worth through 2010

This week the Watchdog Report is looking at state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, (R-Miami), and his brother former Senator Alex, after Miguel replaced him in his senate District 36 in Nov. 2010. Miguel is an attorney, a former Miami-Dade Commissioner and the first Cuban-American to be the body’s chair in the mid 1990s. He ran for Miami-Dade mayor in 2000 and 2004 but lost both of those races to former Mayors Alex Penelas and Carlos Alvarez but got the nod by voters when he defeated in the August Republican primary former state Rep. Julio Robaina, (R-South Miami) and former municipal mayor. After that victory, he only faced a write in candidate who got only 8 percent of the vote to the Senator’s 92 percent. The new senator is the lead government lobbyist for Becker Polikoff that also employs newly minted Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s son. During his years in political office, the elder Diaz de la Portilla pushed for the creation of a county inspector general office and was part of a group of commissioners that shifted some of the county’s budget expenses to the Public Health Trust around the turn of the Century. He is married and sits on a wide variety of committees in the upper legislative body.

What about his lobbying practice?

Through July at Miami-Dade County, he is registered to represent eight firms with the county and he does a brisk business with the local municipalities, especially when it comes to red light cameras at major intersections. However the projected revenue for these devices has come up short since there installation and the contract with Miami was modified recently to give the city some relief though the duration on the contract was extended. A few month’s ago he called me after a story in the Watchdog Report and said he had worked hard over the decades to build up his legal practice and insisted he did not get preferential treatment with public officials saying many of them were not really aware he was a state senator.

What about his finances?

The senior Diaz de la Portilla had a net worth of $486,000 through Dec. 2010 and he lists $140,000 in household goods. His Coral Gables home is valued at $830,000 and he lists a $483,000 mortgage. His income for the year was $418,000 from the law firm and the state of Florida kicked in $4,784.

What about his younger brother’s finances?

Alex Diaz de la Portilla was termed out of his Senate seat and he left public office in November but he is still required to file one last financial disclosure form for the year with the state and to date. The only disclosure for the political consultant on file is for the year 2009 where he lists a net worth of $31,643.

Miguel

Alex

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT

>>> PAST JULY WDR: Chief Justice Canady in the spotlight, tapped by Gov. Crist in 08, has $448,000 net worth through May

Chief Justice Charles Canady is in the spotlight this week now that the required yearly financial disclosure forms have been filed. The former congressman and Yale law school graduate has had a fast paced legal career from the halls of Congress to being General Counsel for Gov. Jeb Bush, and Gov. Charlie Crist elevated him from a Appeals Court to the state’s highest court in Aug. of 2008. He is now the Chief Judge of the seven member body.

What do we know about his finances?

Canady through June 1, 2011 had a net worth of $448,000 (up from $442,000) and he lists $59,500 in household goods. His home is worth $310,000, there is $165,000 in a thrift account, ING deferred income has $82,800 and there is another $56,425 in bank accounts. His liabilities include owing Wells Fargo $171,489 and a financed Hyundai is owed $14,600. His salary for the year was $155,574 and he lists no gifts over $100.00 for the year.

>>> Office Information: The phone number is (850) 410-8092. His judicial assistant is Pam Stewart. His staff attorneys are Dalana Johnson, Kristina Samuels, and Jeremiah Mosley. The mailing address is 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee FL 32399-1925.
Attorneys or law students interested in clerkships in this office should check our Law Clerk Recruitment Page. There also is information on Internships.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Commissioner Suarez calls for massive reform of county government, believes over $500 million in savings could be achieved, while creating 2,300 new jobs

It’s done, a Miami-Dade Commission Task Force report released Dec. 30 to Miami-Dade Commission Chair Joe Martinez and his peers by Commissioner Xavier Suarez suggests the county could save up to $427 million in operational savings, and through the sale of viable county commercial property could bring in $130 million for a total possible number of $200 million from that activity when other factors are considered. Suarez had been given the assignment by Martinez and he has been meeting with county staff, Martinez and Commissioner Sally Heyman (in a Sunshine meeting), the commission’s Auditor Charles Anderson and others over the past few months.

The Watchdog Report covered the Heyman/ Suarez meeting in a past issue and some of the statistics are astounding. Suarez’s mission was to see how Miami-Dade government “could be streamlined in a meaningful way,” and the “task assigned to me was monumental,” wrote the attorney and former Miami mayor. He notes the county owns “4,500 facilities/ or fee lots,” and it leases another approximately “158 properties.” Suarez also highlights the number of county departments there are, that while these have been consolidated to “26 separate departments” by Mayor Carlos Gimenez and another “three are self supporting enterprises, plus the Public Health Trust.” He still feels that number could be further refined and at the meeting with Heyman. He suggested ten departments might be the way to go, since “God” needed only “Ten Commandants,” he suggested back then, and that is the road he took. He is suggesting in the report that there should only be ten departments in total and ten salary levels for each of these organizations. He writes that while the county has a $4.4 billion operational budget and $1.67 billion is committed to the capital project budget. He believes this streamlining can be achieved.

Suarez, who represents commission District 7 that snakes along the east coast to the bay from Little Havana to Pinecrest concluded there “is $14 billion in outstanding debt of which $11.4 billion is supported by special taxes/ franchise fees and other non-ad valorem taxes tying-up $765 million” of this income stream, he wrote. He sarcastically says the “county has concocted 33,000 budgeting codes,” there are ten labor unions that includes 27,000 employees, who fall into “2,000 different salary levels,” versus the federal government that uses “22 basic General Service pay classifications for 2.84 million employees.” Further, County documents indicate 3,000 employees get over $100,000 and the general span of control for employees is 5:1 per supervisor, and when it comes to the county’s Fire and Rescue Department. There are 2,000 firefighters of which 689 (or 1/3) that are supervisory and calls the 2:1 ratio “ludicrous.” And he suggests eliminating 80 positions of ranking officers making over $150,000 realizing a “$12 million savings.” He also called for the “immediate cessation of any [new] non-general obligation bonds,” which should be put to voters for their approval and the consolidation of county staff into the 29-floors of office space at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center downtown. He believes these reforms would not only save well over $500 million but also “create 2,300 jobs,” he estimates.

However, this report has to be read with a grain of salt since it also attacks indirectly Gimenez’s first reorganization effort that the mayor says is evolving with this much more radical roadmap for county government. Further, Suarez is toying with possible running for county mayor in 2012 but he has acknowledged he is not the best fundraiser though his campaign war chest dwarfed his challenger’s funds when he first ran in the spring in a special election. That fundraising issue first surfaced in his past elections in 2001 and 2004 that he lost. The most recent past election in 2004 had him getting public campaign financing from the county and a run for mayor would bring out the subsequent audit done on where these public dollars went. And only because the legislation passed by the county commission creating this fund did not specify this money be segregated. The audit is a great read on how the campaign operated but allowed the now commissioner to avoid any slap on the wrist. And he has emailed the Watchdog Report in the past that he has never run a sloppy or inappropriate campaign during his whole political career, but the ethics commission audit suggests otherwise. >>> Editor’s note: It remains to be seen, how the county commission reacts to this report in the coming months but it does bring to light the size and scope of Miami-Dade government and how it operates. And the Watchdog Report predicts that a couple of the suggestions might be incorporated in the future, but overall I do not believe the commission will agree with a wholesale reorganization of such scope.

>>> Press release: MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LABOR CONTRACTS AND IMPASSE ITEMS PUBLIC NOTICE

A meeting of the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County will be held on January 5, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., where among other matters to be deliberated, a public hearing will be held to consider impasse items for the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) Rank and File, and Supervisory units; and Government Supervisor Association of Florida (GSAF) Local 100 Supervisory and Professional units. The County and the unions are at impasse regarding the issue of an additional five percent employee contribution of base wages towards the cost of health care. Additionally, the County has reached tentative agreements with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 291; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3292 Solid Waste Employees; AFSCME Local 121 Water and Sewer Employees; and AFSCME Local 199 General Employees unions. Members will vote on the contracts on January 4 (TWU); January 6 (Solid Waste); January 9 (Water and Sewer); and January 20 (General Employees). If the TWU collective bargaining agreement is approved by the membership on January 4, it will be placed on the January 5 agenda for ratification by the Board. If the agreement is ratified by the union membership and the Board, the parties’ impasse regarding the issue of an additional five percent employee contribution of base wages towards the cost of health care will be placed on the January 5 meeting agenda for a public hearing to resolve the impasse.

The County and the four unions are at impasse regarding the issue of an additional five percent employee contribution of base wages towards the cost of health care. In each instance, an agreement has been reached with the unions to waive a hearing before a Special Magistrate and bring the matter to the Board for resolution of the impasse. The County and the unions have agreed to waive the insulated period during this impasse period, thereby permitting communication between the parties and the Board on the impasse item. WHAT: Labor Contracts and Impasse Items Public Notice at Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners Meeting WHEN: Thursday, January 5, 2012 9:30 a.m. WHERE: Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW 1st Street, 2nd Floor Commission Chambers
Miami, FL 33128

>>> PAST OCTOBER WDR: A “line in the sand,” says Souto must be drawn when it comes to 442,000 homeowners with Homestead Property Exemptions, some of which are fraudulent but not prosecuted

“We must draw a line in the sand,” said Commissioner Javier Souto ($658,000) and “the law is the law” when it came to people that fraudulently claim a Florida Homestead Property Exemption at two locations impacting county revenues he said in the millions. The former state legislator said if this is not done “the mafia” will run us and residents might as well leave “Florida” or even the United States because “the rule of law no longer applies here,” he believed at a county commission committee meeting on Tuesday. The commissioners on the committee were grilling county Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia, Jr., and his staff on the number of people getting fraudulent exemptions. Garcia and his staff said 442,000 homeowners had the exemptions and if the exemption was removed. The county would get back around $140 million. The office gets around “3,500 leads” about fraudulent homeowners and most are anonymous but many include couples that are getting divorced or a near by neighbor. The property appraiser said some of the recent media reports have outraged many people, but many of the homeowners don’t know the rules of the program. Garcia cited one owner who had his exemption on a home worth around $90,000 versus another he owns worth around $300,000 and the lack of education is part of the issue.
Further, a representative of the inspector general’s office said cases they have passed to the state attorney’s office are not being pursued since the office “declined to prosecute,” she said. Commissioner Sally Heyman (Net worth $425,000) said during the discussion after Souto went ballistic, that the matter was of concern and a “problem” but hoped it would “not become a witch-hunt,” she tempered. However, a knowledgeable person on the issue said one of the reasons the state attorney does not prosecute is it takes years for the case to be resolved and is costly, and any money recovered does not go to the county’s general fund, but to the clerk’s office, and this is not some windfall to the county’s coffers.

Heyman

Souto

What do we know about Garcia’s financials?

Garcia elected in a special countywide election on Jan. 6, 2009 is the first elected property appraiser since Miami-Dade County’s Home Rule Charter was crafted in 1957 and he has been in real estate since 1974. Garcia faced off against Gwen Margolis, a former Miami-Dade Commissioner, past Florida Senate President and now back in the upper state house in a low turnout race back then. He has kept his head down since then, saying the numbers are the numbers as the real estate market collapsed thoughout Miami-Dade and he has yet to generate much controversy in the community at large.

Garcia through Jun. 7, 2011 had a net worth of $1.1 million and he lists $85,000 in household goods. His home is worth $387,000, an investment property is valued at $223,000, and some of his other assets are $150,000 in CDs, a retirement plan has $55,000 in it, and he filed his 2010 IRS 1040 for the year, which is the disclosure Gold Standard. His liabilities are a mortgage owed $59,387, Mercedes Benz is owed $13,161, and his salary in his official capacity was $153,000 plus benefits. He also continues to list his past company, Exclusive Reality Corp. where he is listed as president and director but no income is referenced on the disclosure form. For more on Garcia go to http://www.miamidade.gov/biographies/PA.asp

>>> PAST WDR: MAY: Who knew discussions between Commissioner Heyman, Lapciuc, Migoya, on PHT issues should be secret, felt like NORAD nuclear launch codes might be discussed

What should have been a routine public Florida Sunshine meeting in the second floor conference room at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center used by county commissioners for meetings Tuesday afternoon had County Commissioner Sally Heyman suggesting maybe it should be cancelled, since there were 16 others in the room including a county clerk taping the meeting, county staff members from a number of departments, and the Watchdog Report. She had thought she would be only discussing what was going on at the PHT with PHT board Chair Marcos Lapciuc, and new PHT CEO Carlos Migoya alone, and the previously planned meeting was an attempt to give county commissioners a heads up early and get to know the new CEO who started May 1. However, it was an advertised public meeting, and also included PHT trustee Joaquin del Cueto attending, but that body was dissolved and put in hibernation for 24-months earlier in the morning at a BCC meeting.

However, del Cueto and Lapciuc have both been named to the new seven member Jackson Health System Financial Recovery Board (FRB) newly created by the county commission and that board is getting organized on Monday at 1:00 p.m. at the Ira C. Clark Diagnostic center. While Heyman was possible technically right, county assistant attorney Gene Shy noted the meeting was advertised and while he did not say no when it came to whether it was a public meeting. Heyman remarked “your making us nervous” after his comments saying Migoya and her “will get together another time [in private],” she said. However, it would have looked very odd if they did not have the discussion after everyone was gathered in the small conference room.

Heyman, an attorney and former state legislator and cop, won another commission term in 2010 unchallenged for her northeast Commission District 4 seat, and she often cites the need for “transparency” and the importance of “process.” But at this meeting, she oddly challenged the issue, that in fact, it might not be public since the PHT 17-member board was now dissolved, but she changed her tack when she started to see some of the reactions of people attending the meeting, and it ultimately was a productive session. However, she continued referring to wanting to have private discussions with Migoya a number of times during the discussion, and after the meeting, she met with the CEO and former banker for about 25 minutes alone in her office.

The Watchdog Report usually does not flag some of these public meeting indiscretions but the meeting was unusual and I along with the county’s clerk’s office have the only audio recordings of the proceedings. Heyman gave Migoya information that she had requested over the “last 18-months” and one document included all the real estate the trust and county owned, trying to find ways to reduce their rental costs and where PHT staff was working such as the DuPont Building in downtown Miami, that has finance and collections people working over the past years. Further, Heyman since joining the PHT board four months ago, but now in hibernation. She has saved the health trust some $500,000 by pushing a state contract program that returns a two percent hit to the entity and was one of her pet projects. But on this afternoon, she joked, “I make myself nervous” at the beginning of the meeting and for what was an innocuous meeting. She made it seem like nuclear launch codes might be discussed and when at the end. I was shaking my head at some of the discussion and I said (something I rarely do) that I felt like we were at NORAD where things are very hush-hush, given you are dealing with nuclear ICBMs, which clearly was not the case in this meeting concerning Jackson.

Lapciuc

Heyman

>>> PASTJULY WDR: Mayor Gimenez says changing county employee culture like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time”

Newly minted Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Net worth $923,000 up from $871,000 the year before) in a short but sweet speech to the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon crowd Wednesday outlined his goals and vision for Miami-Dade in the months and years ahead, and changing the county employees’ culture. He said it will be like “eating an elephant, one bite at a time,” during what he hopes will be a mayoral term that ultimately ends in 2020 if he is reelected twice in the coming years. Gimenez said he was committed to reducing the county’s budget and the property tax rate paid by residents by 1.2 percent, cutting the 27,000 county employees by 1,300 people, while also improving services that protect the elderly and children, but also includes a strong nod to public safety issues and resident security. Gimenez a former Miami manager and county commissioner is cleaning house in his administration and a number of department heads have moved on or been cut loose since the June 28 election catapulted him into the top spot. Further, he plans to reduce the number of county departments “by half” and “believes in leadership by example” and has cut $1.5 million from his own office he told the luncheon crowd.

Gimenez said his new top staff has “Over 100 years in county and city government” and he is committed to “transform the culture” of county hall and residents needs and interests will be the new attitude and the “watchword will be to do the right thing,” he said. The former firefighter also noted that the “trust” residents have had with their government is broken and he is committed to “earn that trust” back and you “earn trust one slice at a time,” when it comes to the county’s taxpayers. He also said trust cannot be established without credible and “meaningful Charter Reform” with the goal to “make Miami-Dade County a model for municipal government,” he said.

>>> PAST JULY WDR: Community Periodical program has 375,000 readers of M-DC announcements, around $1 million spent on program, tightened up in 2003 after six papers got $20,000 each that did not exist

During a commission committee meeting last week, county staff indicated the Community Periodical Program had a reach of “375,000 readers” and this number includes the over 40 free periodicals the county funds to the tune of about $1 million to get the county’s side of the story out to residents. The Watchdog Report has kept its eye on this program since the 1990s and in 2003, a county internal audit found six newspapers had gotten around $20,000 each, but the papers did not exist and were unable to be found by county auditors.

After that scandal, the county commission tightened up the program but as the tense relationship with the press and blogs continued to escalate. The program’s funding continued unabated and whenever this funding is challenged by the county’s administration. The small local papers publishers come to the chambers, make their case, and given the wide variety of papers involved given the diversity of the community and the number of people who read these free weeklies or monthlies. The commission buckles and the funding continues generally at an even higher level than recommended by the county administration.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> PAST WDR: M-DC Youth Commission picks anti-bullying & violence as top issues to emphasize with county and schools

The Miami-Dade County Youth Commission met in the county commission’s chambers Friday afternoon and the 27 member body, that includes a smaller number that vote made the number one issue they wanted to deal with “anti-bullying and anti-violence” that school kids face in Miami-Dade public and private schools. The bullying and violence issue beat out substance abuse by a decent margin and the commission members all had on red Miami-Dade County polo shirts for the meeting. The commission was the brainchild of county Commissioner Barbara Jordan (Net worth $1.97 million) who represents District 1 back in Jan 2010 state county back-up documents. The county commissioners got to select two members, but one must be from the Miami-Dade Public Schools and all have to have an interest in government and community while maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA.

They can serve two one-year terms and the televised public meeting was a delight to watch on the county cable station and Youth Commissioner Natalie Roberts chaired the body, the senior is interested in law and she kept the meeting moving, civil, commissioners engaged and transparent when it came to having the public comments added to the meeting record. The Youth Commissioners were sworn in Mar. 15 and the county ethics commission ruled that these kids from 15 to 18 did not have to file financial disclosure forms and county Clerk Harvey Ruvin (Net worth $1.38 million) did the honors when it came to them being sworn into the county commission advisory office. The fact the body picked bullying and violence in all its forms, shows the community what the children face when they venture out into the world as students, armed with current technology while other students have weapons of all forms.

Jordan

>>> PAST SEPTEMBER WDR: Press release: IBOPE Zogby Back-to-School Poll: 57% Want National Standard for Advancement 54% Say Test Score Cheating by School Officials Is Widespread

A majority of adults nationwide (57%) say there should be a national standard level of learning in the nation’s public schools before students can move from one grade to another, and, 54% believe test score cheating by school officials to improve standardized test scores is widespread, a new IBOPE Zogby Interactive survey finds In regard to the best way to evaluate teachers, 64% prefer an even mix of standardized test scores and classroom observation. The survey was conducted from Aug. 25-29. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website: http://www.ibopezogby.com/news/2011/09/02/ibope-zogby-back-school-poll-57-want-national-standard-advancement/

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> PAST OCTOBER WDR: Ryder Trauma Center under the gun with new centers opening, Kendall Regional Hospital already Provisional Class II

The success of the Ryder Trauma Center, a Class I Trauma Center is being challenged with Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) opening its own (Provisional Class II) Trauma facilities around South Florida. HCA through an agreement with the University of South Florida has been working to create these new facilities with the first at Kendall Regional Hospital in Miami-Dade. The Florida Department of Health has recommended six new trauma centers in Trauma Service Area 19 which also includes Monroe County and the private hospital chain is expected to also open centers at there hospitals in Aventura and recently bought Mercy Hospital. The new facility at Kendall Regional will have a helicopter pad and proponents say the time saved from going to the downtown Ryder location will save patients lives.

However, University of Miami physician’s months ago warned Miami-Dade County Commissioners of the consequences if these other trauma centers opened and its impact on Ryder that operates 24/7 and is a 166,000- square-foot facility with well over 100 beds in a number of medical configurations and treats 5,000 trauma patients a year. The facility, the crown jewel of the UM Miller Medical School and Jackson Memorial Health System has six operating room suites, 24 hour X-Ray, CT Scan, and laboratory and includes 20 intensive care beds. Ryder since 1992 when it opened has become a magnet for the severely injured and draws patients from the Caribbean and South America as well. The organization also trains U.S. Army trauma physicians before their deployment and that began back in 2000 and has continued after 9/11.

The concern physicians that practice at Ryder is they will get the toughest medical cases like gunshot wounds and the other trauma centers will get patients in car accidents and these patients generally have at least $10,000 in medical insurance that is required if you own and drive a car in Florida. This current insurance funding has buffered some of the costs associated with treating these gun shot wound patients, many of which don’t have health insurance. And having one central site has allowed UM/Jackson to provide world class trauma care and that will be eroded when these other centers draw many of the paying patients to their facilities. HCA has been trying to get into this business for years and has been putting pressure on the legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. The governor was the former Columbia/HCA CEO but left the company in the late 1990s after building it into the largest chain of private hospitals in the nation with over 300 such facilities after he got a golden parachute in stock, but HCA later paid a $1.7 billion fine for Medicare fraud, though Scott was not charged himself. Here is information on Ryder http://www.jhsmiami.org/body.cfm?id=204 and here is press announcements from Kendall Regional on the subject:http://www.kendallmed.com/our-services/trauma-care.dot and http://kendallmed.com/about/newsroom/detail.dot?id=75985e63-a89c-41e1-aac1-1ae947f06913

>>> PAST WDR: JUNE 2008: Blast from the past: PHT CEO Marvin O’Quinn’s presentation to the Miami-Dade BCC in June 2008 on the financial issues facing Jackson Memorial Health in the years ahead.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> PAST JULY WDR: Mayor Regalado net worth rises to $9,300, Commissioner Sarnoff’s drops to $2.08 million, and Dunn comes in at $10,000 for 2010

With July 1 comes looking at elected leaders required financial disclosure forms for the past year and on Friday the Watchdog Report reviewed the information at the city of Miami’s clerk’s office, and all were filed on time. Looking at public official’s finances gives a clue into their financial life and what pressures may be hanging over their heads, or maybe none and those people that are financially secure are what I call generally benign public officials. In Mayor Tomas Regalado’s case he continues to be the poorest of the elected leaders with only a $9,300 net worth through Dec. 2010 (Up from $5,000 last year). His salary of around $97,000 was not listed but he does list his Homestead property that he shares with Jose Regalado. His main listed asset besides his home is a 2004 Jeep Cherokee worth $6,000 and he owes Chase Bank $67,000.

What about the commissioners?

>> Commissioner Marc Sarnoff leads the pack with a net worth of $2.08 million through 2010 (Which is down from $2.17 million the year before). He has $500,000 in law practice stock, his townhouse complex is worth $1.3 million, and he has $493,000 in investments with Morgan Stanley and a bank account has $52,714, in it and there is $26,858 in a retirement account. The attorney, elected in November 2006 and up for reelection this November and facing four challengers owes Bank of America $496,000, Citibank $160,000, HSCB $185,000, Chase Bank $22,760, American Express is owed $8,747 and financing for a BMW and Mercedes Benz is $32,516 and $15,079.

>> Commissioner Frank Carollo, CPA is next in the financial net worth race coming in at $707,000 through 2010. His home and investment property is worth $879,000 and he lists $55,000 in personal goods. The man is married with a new baby girl, there is $51,500 in cash, and there is $8,000 in an IRA. His only liabilities are $200,000 with Chase Mortgage and $86,000 owed to EMC mortgage.

>> Commissioner Wilfredo “Willy” Gort elected back to the commission in 2009 after leaving the commission in 2001 after he lost the Miami mayoral race back then. The investment banker since then now has a net worth of $226,000 through June 28, 2011 and lists getting income from MFR Securities, the City of Miami ($55,000 in salary) and social security. He has a CD worth $12,000, a savings account has $50,000 in it and an IRA is worth $52,000. He lists a property in Tavernier valued at $250,000, another property in Sebring is worth $7,000, and two mortgages with Sally Mae and Bank of America come in at $145,000.

>> Commissioner Francis Suarez, a real estate attorney comes in next with a net worth of $81,131 through June 11, 2011, his home is valued at $185,000, and another investment property is worth $91,970. He lists $147,000 and $4,500 in savings accounts and there is $2,480 in a checking account. His liabilities are a Morgan Chase mortgage owed $360,000 and another lender is owed $162,000.

>> And Commissioner Richard Dunn, II is the final financial disclosure form reviewed and he comes in with a $10,000 net worth through 2010. The commissioner also a reverend lists income from the Faith Community Baptist Church and the city of Miami (The commissioners salaries is $55,000 with another some $30,000 in benefits), and lists $50,000 in household goods. His liabilities are $70,000 with Ocean Bank, the IRS is owed $30,000, and the U.S. Dept. of Education is owed $30,000.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Mayor Bower to face the TMBC and will take on activists questions on Mgr. Gonzalez’s fate in March

Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower will be the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club speaker, Jan. 3, 2012, 8:30AM – 10:00AM, David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach. >>> Since 1996, the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club has been gathering every Tuesday at 8:30AM at a local Miami Beach restaurant for informal, non-partisan discussions of issues – political, governmental, etc. It is not affiliated with any other organization. We are currently meeting at David’s Cafe II, 1654 Meridian Ave., Miami Beach, between Lincoln Road Mall and Macy’s (formerly Burdine’s). There is plenty of parking at that hour in the adjacent municipal parking lot. One orders from the menu or simply has coffee. Guest speakers range across the political, governmental, business, and social issues spectrum. Sessions are open to everyone. Simply show up. www.MBTMBC.com

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> PAST APRIL WDR: Hail Mayor Cason, Commissioners Kerdyk and Quesada, as Slesnick and Withers say sayonara to body

Mayor James “Jim” Cason and Commissioners Frank C. Quesada and William “Bill” Kerdyk Jr., were sworn in Friday around noon in the packed commission chambers and it was a bitter sweet affair for some of the losing candidates, especially in the tough mayoral race where Cason defeated Mayor Don Slesnick, II and Tom Korge in a three way winner take all race. Slesnick’s last duties in office was signing the election documents certifying Cason was the winner at the dais, and once this occurred a city worker removed Slesnick’s name off the mayor’s office door and replaced it with Cason. I had seen this done when Slesnick was first elected back in 2001, and at the time I marveled at the precision of the change, since government is rarely this nimble.

Kerdyk told Slesnick he was surprised “how visible you were” on the state and national stage over the past decade, yet always there “for employee functions,” he said. He also noted that while the city’s finances and pension were big election issues that there was $6.5 million in city reserves. Slesnick’s retirement by the voters was coupled with two decade long Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers stepping down after being termed out and his comments brought tears to many in the audience. He was first elected in 1991 and has been through Hurrican Andrew and many other major storms later, were just a few of the challenges he dealt with in his long career in public office. He said thinking about all the people and events was like “flipping through a rolodex,” joking younger people would not know what that was. He also praised Slesnick’s knowledge about people he met joking he “knows everything about an individual,” he suggested. Withers said the most memorable incident in his career was when the city’s fire rescue unit saved a child drowned in a pool and that is what made him proud about the tony municipality and the life saving services it provides to residents.

What about the mayor’s race?

Cason, who is fluent in Spanish, garnered 3,060 votes, to Slesnick’s 2,888 and Korge’s 2,721 votes and while he was behind when it came to fundraising. He worked the Spanish media outlets effectively and his time in the Foreign Service, including being stationed in Havana heading the U.S. Interests Section, with strong anti Castro credentials allowed the former Ambassador to win the race in the end. And when it came to the commission races, Kerdyk received 5,763 votes and Quesada running against a pack of challengers garnered 3,783 of the City Beautiful votes. Also at the swearing-in ceremonies were past Gables mayors as well as Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Commissioner Francis Suarez, and county mayoral candidate, former county Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, along with a host of families and friends.

CITY OF NORTH MIAMI BEACH

>>> PAST WDR: Former Mayor Rosner gets deadlock vote from ethics commission, Judge Gelber slams official for “make it happen” comment

Ethics Commission press release: After four partial days of hearings over the past several weeks, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE) completed its action on complaints (C 09-02 & C 09-04) against former North Miami Beach Mayor Myron Rosner, but deadlocked on a two-two vote. It was alleged that Rosner, who was a licensed building contractor and a member of the Miami-Dade County Board of Rules and Appeals, proposed and completed several additions to his private home that required zoning variances. As a member of the City Council, Rosner discussed his displeasure about the variance process with the city manager at the time, who told his staff to resolve the issue. Building permits were issued for the improvements that violate the city code.

Two Ethics Commissioners voted that the evidence did not meet the “clear and convincing” standard required for finding Rosner misused his authority. One member recused himself from the proceeding. Two others believed Rosner should be found guilty of exploitation of official position. Commissioner Seymour Gelber, a former Miami Beach mayor and retired judge, issued a formal statement, noting, “When the mayor told the city manager ‘make it happen,’ he sent a message to his underlings. They knew what was expected of them and they made ‘IT’ happen. You don’t get smoking guns as evidence in these kinds of cases.” Referring also to the following complaint, Gelber said, “These acts will not be tolerated. Maybe both these cases will convince some public officials that their duty is not to themselves or friends but to the community as a whole.”

In the other case Judge Gelber referred to, the Ethics Commission approved a Letter of Instruction to the former Homestead city manager who settled a complaint (C 11-21) that charged him with “exploitation of official position” when he ordered reductions in bills generated by the city’s electric utility for two customers who sought relief from Homestead’s top politician. Noting indications that Mayor Steven Bateman pressured the manager to take the action, the Letter states that all public officials are “duty bound to act in an ethical manner.” It asserts, “Administrators and staff cannot allow themselves to be bullied or cajoled into committing questionable acts under the guise of keeping their elected officials happy.” The current city manager has since reinstated the accounts in question.

CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI

>>> PAST WDR: Vice Mayor Newman is hit with critical ethics commission letter of instruction; “tyrannical behavior” while not actionable “is inexcusable neverless.”

The Miami-Dade Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint against Vice Mayor Valerie Newman but the commission did issue a Letter of Instruction to the veteran municipal politician and here is a summary of the ethics commission action. >>> Following their dismissal of the complaint (C 09-11) against South Miami City Commissioner Valerie Newman last month, Ethics Commissioners today issued a Letter of Instruction to the politician. The charges, which originated in 2009 and were based on South Miami’s now-repealed Code of Conduct, accused Newman of bullying people inside and outside of city government. Even though the COE determined that proceeding with the case would not be a prudent use of resources, the Letter states that “Rude, boorish and tyrannical behavior by elected officials, while perhaps not actionable under an ethics code, is inexcusable nevertheless.” The Ethics Commission also states that “ethical behavior is not simply the doing what is right, but doing it the right way,” and hopes the Letter “impresses upon Commissioner Newman and all elected officials that they must be mindful that their behavior be at all times proper, honest, respectful, and professional…”

Newman

>>> PAST WDR JUNE: Vice Mayor Newman contends county Ethics Commission went over board, Ethics advocate Murawski says “95 percent” of the length of investigation’s time Newman’s fault

The Watchdog Report contacted the ethics commission advocate on why a investigation of South Miami vice Mayor Valerie Newman took almost two years and I sat down with the ethics commission Advocate Michael Murawski last Tuesday and he said “95 percent” of the delay was the fault of “Newman and her using two attorneys” in the course of the investigation. He said the second attorney did extensive discovery and there were also legislation changes at the city. He said the letter from the commission was sent to Newman’s attorney in May. Here is the complete closeout memo on the investigation and Letter of Instruction that has Newman challenging the matter claiming she was the one that was abused by the ethics commission investigators and commission and she will try to seek reimbursement for legal costs that were paid by the city she told www.miamiherald.com

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Long serving state Atty. Satz in the spotlight, first elected in 1976, criticized soft on public corruption, had $1.34 million net worth through 2010

Broward state Attorney Michael Satz is in the spotlight this week and the long serving Democratic Party state attorney has been a fixture since he was first elected in 1976, but has been open to criticism that he has been soft on political corruption over the decades. Satz more recently when it comes to public official corruption has been more active but a statewide grand jury said the local public school district was rift with cronyism and public corruption and if it was legal, that the school board should be dissolved. Currently between the state attorney’s office and U.S. Attorney’s office these organizations have indicted, or convicted around a dozen elected leaders the last few years and while there has been a recent lull. The rate of arrests are expected to continue in the months ahead.

What do we know about his finances?

Satz through Dec. 2010 had a net worth of $1.34 million and he lists $99,570 in household goods. He has $336,000 in cash equivalents, there is $525,000 in real estate, stocks and bonds account for $173,000 and there is $220,000 in an IRA. His salary for the year as state attorney was $133,000 and his total income for the year was $170,265, state’s his financial disclosure form for the year.

Satz Bio: http://sao17.state.fl.us/mikesatz.htm

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>>PAST WDR: Long serving Commissioner Marcus survived political purges over years, had $126,000 net worth through 2010

Long serving Palm Beach County Commissioner Karen Marcus is in the spotlight this week and she survived the commission purge a few years ago that had a majority of the body when all was said and done in federal prison. She has a strong environmental record and started out in the early 2000s in elected office.

What do we know about her finances?

Marcus through Dec. 2010 had a net worth of $126,075 and lists $60,000 in household goods. Her home is worth $232,000 and an investment property is valued at $92,660, there is $17,200 in savings and two cars are worth $8,000 and $12,660. Her liabilities are $89,000 and $184,000 owed to Chase Mortgage, and a Palm Beach Credit Union is owed $12,700 and $8,900. She lists her only income as being her $99,662 in salary as a commissioner.

Marcus >> For more information on Marcus go to http://www.pbcgov.com/countycommissioners/district1/biography.htm

MONROE COUNTY

>>> PAST JULY WDR: Mayor Carruthers in the spotlight, up in 2012, had $6.3 million net worth through Aug. 2010

Mayor Heather Carruthers of Monroe County is in the spotlight this week and she represents Commission District 3 of the nation’s most southern county. She is up for reelection in 2012 and represents Monroe voting precincts 5-9 and the former singer and financial advisor won her race overwhelmingly a few years ago.

What do we know about her finances?

Carruthers through Aug. 2010 had a net worth of $6.3 million and she lists $80,000 in household goods. She lists real estate valued at $720,000 and Pearls Property is worth $10 million, there is $249,000 in securities, a checking account has $4,000 and a life insurance policy is worth $50,000. Her liabilities are $4.1 million with the Bank of the Keys, Bayview Loan Savings wants $700,000 and $3,000 is owed on a VISA credit card. Her income for the year was $60,000 from the property management and $43,244 came in from being a county commissioner. >>> http://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/Directory.aspx?EID=21

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Please find the Coalition’s detailed media advisory below regarding the 27th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference, January 5-8, 2012 – Everglades Restoration: Worth Every Penny! Please let me know if you have any questions or are interested in our complimentary media registration. Hope to see you there!
*Follow NPCA on Twitter: @NPCA -Protecting Our National Parks for Future Generations

EDITORIALS

>>> PAST WDR: APRIL: A brief history of the Watchdog Report over the past 12 years, but an odyssey that really started in late 1997 when waste, fraud and public corruption flourished in South Florida

In 2000 when I first started the Watchdog Report using a purple iMac armed with the power of the internet, my only goal was to create a public nervous system of information about what was going on at all the public institutions in South Florida in an attempt to reduce waste, fraud and abuse, good informed government while also trying to connect the general public with their public leaders and institutions. The decision to make the Watchdog Report free back May 5, 2000 was a conscious effort on my part and the fact I was single with no children also freed me up to do this on a full time basis, using roughly $500,000 of my own money over the years, everything I had. I also made the report free because I did not want to create a group of people, with inside information, but to make the public knowledge available to all, and when it comes to the Watchdog Report’s readership, that has been achieved. Since that time one of the unanticipated advantages of doing this is the people I have gotten to interview and ask questions too over the years. Ranging from current President Barack Obama (When he was a U.S. Senator), Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, Mikail Gorbachev, Gov. Jeb Bush (who I actually almost saw weekly since he was from Miami) and hundreds of other people and events over the years.

When I have been on WLRN/NPR radio listeners from Palm Beach and other places ask why they don’t have a Watchdog in their community as well, and they may in the future but it takes an odd set of circumstances for someone to have the guts to try this. And in my case, it was a number of events including when federal officials extracted the young Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez that left the community in ethnic flames, combined with the widespread use of the internet back then, along with political corruption flourishing in the 1990s. Including some of these powerful people saying some really contemptible things, like “You little people, we are going to f….. crush you,” said one top political operative back then to me who later died from a heart anomaly. Though a number of people asked at the time, if I had killed him. I said no, I just told him when it came to long serving Miami Commissioner J.L. Plummer getting reelected after 29 years in office that it was going to be a tough race. Further, having lived in Japan, Sydney and spent extensive time in China and the rest of Asia where democracy sometimes is in short supply. It seemed here in South Florida there was a need for enhanced high definition transparency at public meetings and I attempted that assignment when no one else wanted to do it.

Now I am starting my soon to be the 13th year in May as the editor, publisher, and I again thank all that believed in what I was trying to do, and actually financially supported me in this activity that really began back in 2007. But morphed in 2000 into a news service and community education resource. Further, People ask me all the time what and why I have the Argus Report section, and it is in honor of former Miami Herald Publisher Alberto Ibarguen after I became an independent editorial columnist in the summer of 2000. He told me to be the “community Argus.” And at the time I emailed back. He and I were probable the few people who knew the Argus was a Greek mythical colossus with 100 eyes that protected the fawn Io, and would later morph in symbolism to the peacock’s feathers used by NBC for their logo. And I have tried to fulfill that Watchdog role in a small way, in this diverse and exciting community that I refer to as “colorful,” but is likely not to be repeated when I am gone. And why for me, publishing solo for these dozen years with over 100,000 readers is a milestone, that I thank my readers and supporters to allow happen, and while it has not been easy. It was necessary for someone to have done it, I just did not think it would have to be me, but here we are today.

>>> Past WDR: Feb.: Community tensions are hot, economic conditions and violence fuel the feeling

Anyone that does not think there is major social tension or the community is in a “crisis” is not listening to the people on the ground and in the trenches for the duration of this financial Great Recession is grinding down many in our community and it is reflected in the up tick in crime seen around the county. Further, the recent killings of law enforcement officers around the state and the seven shootings of local residents, all Black in Miami has stoked the fire of discontent and it is bubbling and manifesting itself in a variety of ways. Many community leaders are seeing it, the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board over 40-years old is dealing with it as best it can but the coming months and years ahead will not be easy as the economy slowly bounces back, but many of the old jobs are gone now. And without a job and income there is no life or opportunity for far too many of us that crosses a broad spectrum of people in South Florida.

At a Miami-Dade Homeless Trust joint meeting with the Community Partnership for Homeless (CPH) on Friday staff discussed who is homeless these days and it is not like in the past where 51.5 percent were living on the streets because of financial reasons. The new reason is disability or illness coming in at 48 percent states Trust updated documents and includes people with a third grade education to people with a master’s degree, attorneys and even physicians said staff. Further, documents indicate one in three people experiencing homelessness are in families which is becoming a bigger issue especially at shelters, because there is a increased number of men between 18 to 24 becoming part of the population and they “are not wanting programs” to help them get off the street and are “very resistance” to help and hang out in groups that creates a “concern abut security,” said H. Daniel Vincent, the executive director of CPH.

It is this community underside that cuts across all ethnic groups that sees the great wealth of some but find their world and finances going in the other direction that is causing this rising tension and when you factor in the demographics of South Florida with peoples coming from all over the planet. Those people that have great success need to be grateful and sensitive to what others are facing in their personal lives, be it sickness or financial distress because if you live in Miami-Dade you are on a ship. And we have yet to determine if it’s fate is a safe crossing or the Titanic, and with a social and economic iceberg looming on the horizon, how we deal with it will show what Miami is really about because whether you like it or not. We will collectively sink or swim together in the coming months of great challenges.

LETTERS

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year wishing you all the Best, and Thank you for this page. I love to read it.
TC

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times --The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
********************************************************************

Watchdog Report Supporters Invoice-Form

NOTE: Invoice is for Yearly supporter/sponsorship Rates: Thank you.

Supporting Sponsors $5,000
Sustaining Sponsors $2,000
Corporate Sponsors $1,000 (All levels above will be listed in the report with web-site link if desired)
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Name & Address

Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker

Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125
Miami, FL 33133
Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> This issue will not be online as usual on Monday and not until next week since my dedicated and hard working webmaster is spending time with her family and friends over the Holidays. I thank her for all the support over the past year.

>>> May you and your family and friends have a reflect full, Merry Christmas and Hanukah, and each of us should think about how the religions of the world can live together, given the overall global challenges humanity faces in the years ahead.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> “Mother Ayers,” sit-in at county mayor’s lobby could have been tragic with possible arrest but comes to a peace full conclusion

Occupy Georgia Ayers, came to Miami-Dade County Hall Wednesday afternoon and what could have been a heated community controversy just before the holidays, ended in a peaceful manner after calmer minds nipped the escalating tension in the bud in the lobby of county Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s (net worth $923,000) office on the 29th floor on the Stephen P. Clark government center. Ayers has spoken publicly in the past of her frustration and she is claiming her alternative youth program that gets county funding was “five pay periods” in the rear, and her people were fighting for their fiscal life as the holidays approached. Ayers, 83, and known as Mother Ayers in the African-American community can be verbally combative and is not shy about saying her piece. “I am not moving until I get paid,” she said in a loud tone. And her tone escalated to “I don’t want to hear a da… thing, and all I want to hear is Mrs. Ayers the money is in the bank,” since it is an internal bank transfer.

However, while this was going on for about an hour, members of Occupy Miami camped outside on the lawn of the government center heard about it and started to filter in along with other supporters of Ayers, and more building security and Miami-Dade Police Officers were also starting to show up. And at one point, there were over 25 people in the small lobby, including two female Miami-Dade police officers. Ayers continued saying how many mayors and police chiefs she has known over the decades and she has “served four county managers and is not going to be pushed around.” One county employee after speaking with her said that the community activist “refuses to calm down,” that also included an earlier conversation with Miami-Dade Community Relations Board Chair Dr. Walter T. Richardson and Ayers has been a board member of the CRB for years in the past. But Ayers persisted saying, “You can call the police if you want, but everyone got paid except us!” Ayers, railed the mayor’s staff and other representatives saying, “You all work for me” and she was insistent she get the problem resolved today. A woman representative of the mayor’s office told her they would try to clear this up and send Ayers a resolution update, and the Watchdog Report gave the woman a card asking to be copied in the email, but by my deadline, nothing has come in from Gimenez’s office on the subject. So it is unknown if she got the funding by Christmas Day.

>>> This occurred earlier in the week regarding Ayers: Press release: Mayor Tomas Regalado and Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones Hold a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Miami River of Life, Georgia Jones Ayers Transitional Building Facility City of Miami Helps Rehabilitate Liberty City Building for Youth in Need

City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado and City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, District 5, will join George Mensah, Director of the Department of Community Development, the Liberty City Community Revitalization Trust, George Ellis, Executive Director of Miami’s River of Life, Inc., and Ms. Georgia Ayers, Alternative Programs, Inc., on Wednesday, December 21, 2011, 11:00 a.m. to celebrate the completion of rehabilitation work at 1371 NW 61 St. in Liberty City, on the Miami’s River of Life Building, Georgia Jones Ayers Transitional Living Facility. The building’s rehabilitation was made possible with $224,950 in funding from the City of Miami’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF) with renovations including roof replacement, new windows, bathrooms, and flooring, new electrical and plumbing systems, and interior and exterior painting.

As part of the Fresh Start Initiative spearheaded by Commissioner Spence-Jones, six female youth will move into the renovated, affordable building in Liberty City which will now serve as supportive housing for youth (ages 16-21 years of age) transitioning out of the state’s foster care system and in need of temporary housing for a three- to nine-month period. The property will be managed by Miami’s River of Life, Inc., a not-for-profit organization which assists in the care, protection and progress of thousands of youth in Florida’s Juvenile Justice, Department of Children and Families, and other child protection systems. Miami’s River of Life, Inc., will also offer supportive services to the building’s residents.

The City of Miami AHTF was established to receive financial contributions from private developers who desire to take advantage of bonus provisions allowed in the zoning code, in exchange for financial contributions to the fund. The AHTF is used to meet the housing needs of the community and for housing programs.
Community partner El Dorado Furniture donated furnishings for the units, while the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana extended financial donations to individually assist all of the young women moving into the building. For additional information on Miami’s River of Life, please call 305-756-6587.

>>> Rothstein opening window into world of public corruption in Broward and Florida

Local U.S. Attorney Wilfredo “Willy” Ferrer had lunch with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Net worth $328,000) and Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez (Net worth $81,131) on Wednesday and Ferrer’s office is the community firewall when it comes to prosecuting the wide range of federal crimes from Medicare and mortgage fraud to essentially human slavery cases involving illegal immigrants. And the very busy federal office has the people assets and determination over the years to go after the high volume and highflying lawbreakers that make up the U.S. Southern District of Florida that stretches through all of South Florida. The office over the years has fought a continuous battle when it came to public corruption of elected leaders and currently. ‘The Great Deposition’ of Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein is in the public eye here in Miami and his testimony is slowly coming out, but even if the testimony is only possible true, it paints a man out of control and treating a wide variety of leaders like a few coins in his pocket, Godfather style.

Rothstein has dropped out of sight since he got 50-years in federal prison (but is also in a witness protection program) after bilking $1.4 billion from investors and as one attorney said of the discussion. Rothstein was ‘the great corruptor of our community,’ www.sunsentinel.com and it was a sad commentary since the corruption included, the county sheriff’s office, elected leaders, attorneys and even some banks Rothstein is claiming. The disbarred attorney used to tell people if they wanted ‘a rock star lifestyle’ like him they should invest with him, but it was all a shell and finally collapsed last fall. But this man is just one of a long line of wayward hucksters and schemers that seem to bloom in South Florida and why the federal attorney’s office plays such an important role. Since these top federal prosecutors while local to the community. They are not elected but confirmed by the United States Senate and that is a big difference and gives them the independence to go after these people, no matter who they are in a local community. And as one assistant federal attorney said at a forum on public corruption and fraud, when it comes to public corruption and federal prosecutors. She said the federal office “shots to kill, not to maim,” the corrupt officials that have sold out their offices for money or a variety of other reasons. >>> For more go to Bob Norman’s blog on www.wplg.com or to read the transcripts go to http://www.local10.com/news/blogs/bob-norman/Rothstein-transcript-4/-/3223354/6569190/-/item/12/-/12pxneg/-/index.html

>>> White House press release: Statement by President Obama on passed extension of tax cuts

For the past several weeks, I’ve stated consistently that it was critical that Congress not go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million working Americans. Today, I congratulate members of Congress for ending the partisan stalemate by reaching an agreement that meets that test.

Because of this agreement, every working American will keep his or her tax cut – about $1,000 for the average family. That’s about $40 in every paycheck. Vital unemployment insurance will continue for millions of Americans who are looking for work. And when Congress returns, I urge them to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay.

This is good news, just in time for the holidays. This is the right thing to do to strengthen our families, grow our economy, and create new jobs. This is real money that will make a real difference in people’s lives. And I want to thank every American who raised your voice to remind folks in this town what this debate was all about. It was about you. And today, your voices made all the difference.

>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen joins Cong. Alcee Hastings in sending letter asking for reform to the formula for distribution of AIDS medicine funds

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) joined Congressman Alcee Hastings (D-FL) and other congressional colleagues from both Florida and Georgia in singing a letter to Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary Wakefield regarding the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). The letter asks that federal funds be distributed to states by taking into account demonstrable need. Currently, there are 4,333 individuals on ADAP waiting lists in 12 states. Florida and Georgia account for over half of these cases with 1,078 and 1,175 individuals on their lists, respectively. These changes will help save lives and help shrink these growing waiting lists.

Said Ros-Lehtinen: “Florida is one of the most affected states when it comes to HIV/AIDS. While an AIDS diagnosis is not the death-sentence it once was, individuals need to maintain a stable daily medicine regimen in order to lead a normal life. ADAP funds help low-income patients receive the medication they need in a timely and consistent manner. These funds should be allocated to the hardest hit communities.”

>>> Press release: Ros-Lehtinen Introduces Legislation to Combat Medicare Fraud

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) introduced legislation targeted at those who defraud Medicare and abuse a program intended to help our seniors. H.R. 3735 the “Medicare Fraud Enforcement & Prevention Act” was introduced yesterday Monday, December 19th. The bill will double the fines and jail time for those convicted of Medicare fraud. It also creates a new criminal offense punishable with a 10-year minimum sentence for those who knowingly sell or distribute the ID numbers of Medicare beneficiaries. In addition, it prevents individuals who have been part of Medicare fraud in the past from billing Medicare if they switch companies. A pilot program utilizing biometric technology, in order to ensure the legitimacy of Medicare claims, will also be implemented. Most importantly, this legislation will facilitate real-time information sharing among law enforcement agencies, which is crucial in uncovering and dismantling Medicare scams. Said Ros-Lehtinen: “I am pleased to introduce this important piece of legislation. South Florida has been known as the epicenter of Medicare fraud for years. It is time we took the fight to those who seek to defraud Medicare and prey on our most vulnerable citizens. This bill not only increases the penalties for those who engage in Medicare fraud, but also sets up a pro-active paradigm that will help stem the tide of abuse in South Florida and across the nation.”

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly
To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel A. Ricker

Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2,500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.

This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!

FLORIDA

>>> The good news for Gov. Scott is it’s his first year in office and has time to change governance perception, if he wants to be reelected

Gov. Rick Scott (Net worth $103 million) has found it is easier to be elected than to govern over the past year and when it comes to the press, it is hard to govern without these institutions involvement. Scott who killed a couple of billions of high speed rail federal money because it left the state on the hook for billions in the future may be right in some of these decisions, but doing it politically deftly is not a strong suit for the former healthcare executive. Since that Nov. 2010 victory, his poll numbers have plunged into the high 20s when it came to Floridians approval of the job he was doing, but with the rising employment rate around the state. Scott who made jobs his mantra if this economic rebound keeps up. He could see his approval rate edge up but there is a solid base of Floridians who not only don’t like him, he scares them.

What about Scott and Florida’s public hospitals?

Miami-Dade Financial Recovery Board Chair Marcos Lapciuc told his fellow board members Friday that he was with Scott in Tallahassee for the governor’s lighting the Menorah Ceremony a couple of days ago and when Lapciuc said told the governor, he oversaw Jackson Health System. Scott said to him that the health system “better be in synch with where healthcare is going,” if the public hospital expects to survive.

>>> Press release: Christmas Tidings and Good Cheer from Governor and First Lady Scott

“The Christmas season is a time to celebrate with friends and family. It is also a time to celebrate the blessings that are bestowed upon us and the birth of our Lord. In the spirit of this joyous season, Ann and I want to wish all Floridians a Merry Christmas. “We would also like to offer our sincere thanks to America’s servicemen and women. Because of the sacrifice of our Armed Forces and their families, the United States continues to be the greatest country in the world. Everyone involved in our country’s defense is in our prayers this Christmas. “As Floridians celebrate, we must also remember the many families that are still experiencing unemployment. We remain focused on ensuring that everyone in Florida who wants a job, has the opportunity to get one, and that our children have access to good quality education. The love and compassion that Florida’s citizens display toward one another during this time of year is an inspiration. It is truly a reminder that we live in the greatest state in the nation.”

>>> Governor Rick Scott names Aliese “Liesa” Priddy to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Priddy, 54, of Immokalee, has been the owner of JB Ranch since 2007 and a conflict of interest coordinator with Cohen and Grigsby P.C. since 2006. Previously, she was the office manager for Siket, Solis and Maher from 1999 to 2006. Priddy has served on the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District since 2005 and on the Big Cypress Basin Board from 2004 to 2010. She served on the board of directors for the Economic Development Council of Collier County from 2009 to 2010. She received the 2011 Land Conservationist of the Year Award from the Florida Wildlife Federation. Priddy received a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University and attended the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. She succeeds Dwight Stephenson, who is not seeking reappointment, and is appointed for a term beginning January 6, 2012, and ending January 6, 2017. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

>>> Governor Rick Scott taps Susan “Katherine” Frazier to the Florida Transportation Commission.

Frazier, 45, of Tampa, has been an attorney with Hill Ward Henderson since 1992 and serves on the executive council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Henry B. Plant Museum since 2008 and is currently the board’s vice president. In addition, she has served on the board of directors for the Child Abuse Council since 2000 and is the board’s immediate past president. She has also served on the board of directors for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation since 2009. Frazier received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Florida. She succeeds Manuel S. Rose and is appointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending September 30, 2015. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> It’s over, BCC approves new commission district map for 2012 elections, but there was haggling to the end, Hialeah will have only three commissioners representing the city

The Miami-Dade County Commission unanimously passed the commissioners new districts for the 2012 elections Monday night, but it took time to hash out some of the small details. The process of redistricting the 13 commission districts occurs every ten years after the national census numbers are released and here in Miami-Dade. The population rose to almost 2.5 million people and 65 percent of the residents are of Hispanic origin. Guillermo Olmedillo, a past county planning and zoning director headed up the process, that had over 90 permutations of draft maps looked at by some commissioners but a consensus map emerged last week called Draft 8 that after some tweaks in the commission chambers after the public hearing was approved.

Commissioner Jean Monestime’s District 2 had some of the larger changes since his population had decreased and at one point during the process, his proposed district extended west to include part of Hialeah. However, Commissioner Esteban Bovo (Net worth $25,896) wanted to keep Hialeah more compact and not have four commissioners represent the county’s second largest city but only three. And with the final map, Hialeah now is split between Bovo who represents District 13 and Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz (Net worth $64,200) in District 12 and Rebeca Sosa (Net worth $439,418) who has about 3,000 of the city’s residents in her District 6 seat.

Monestime

Bovo

Sosa

>>> Princeton Land Investments bulks-up when it comes to land use attorneys, Korge leading the charge

For Princeton Land Investments Inc., Dec. 12, 2011 was a big day when a phalanx of top land use attorneys all filed to be county lobbyist for the land banking company controlled by lead partner Chris Korge. Korge along with eight others signed on to represent the venture that owns land in southwest Miami-Dade and the new company’s lobbyists are Jeff Bercow, Ben Fernandez, Mathew Amster, Michael Larkin, Michael Marrero, Graham Penn and Melissa Tapanes Llahues, state county lobbyist registration documents and this is a big time army of people to represent what ever venture is being proposed. Readers should stay tuned and see what has brought together such a team that has Korge, a major President Bill Clinton fundraiser and former county Mayor Alex Penelas confidant, leading the charge.

>>> Watchdog Report is going to take a look at MAM next year

Miami Art Museum (MAM) does not allow the public or press to go to their board meetings and while the organization’s a not-for-profit, it is private and closed board. The Watchdog Report over the years has watched MAM peripherally but with the recent controversy with the naming of the new museum after Jorge Perez on Bicentennial Park funded with over $100 million in public bond money and the city of Miami providing the precious park space. I have become more interested in the institution that is benefiting from this public largess. Further, I sent an email last week to MAM Director Tom Collins and an assistant asking when the next board meeting was and if it was closed to the public? But they did not respond by deadline and just blew me off. I later asked Michael Spring, the Miami-Dade Director of Cultural Affairs department about this issue and he confirmed the “meetings were closed.” But he said I could review all the documents he has on MAM and the how the public money is being used and how much private money has been raised for the new museum that was also given land in the waterfront park. And I will be reporting on this organization after the New Year.

The Watchdog Report writes about MAM only after what occurred when the Adrianne Arsht Center was built years ago and those oversight meetings were public and after I was told there were problems about 13 months into the centers construction. I never missed a monthly construction committee meeting of what was to be a $255 million performing art halls that finished 20 months late, with over $100 million in change orders. And the twin hall structures came in at $472.9 million and not $400 million as has been reported recently in the mainstream press, and I am trying to avoid such a possible blowout when it comes to the MAM in the future.

>>> Press release: Resolve to run a clean campaign in the New Year

Citizens considering running for elected office can learn how to do it right by attending the next Campaign Skills Seminar sponsored by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. The two-hour seminar takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2012, in the Surfside Town Hall Chambers. Speakers — including representatives from the Ethics Commission and the Elections Department — will provide essential information on fundraising and record keeping to candidates, campaign treasurers, volunteers and anyone else who wants to understand the legal and ethical obligations of seeking public office. The event is free and open to the public. Attorneys can earn Continuing Legal Education credits from the Florida Bar. >>> Campaign Skills Seminar, Thursday, January 12, 2012 6:30 p.m., Town Hall Chambers, 9293 Harding Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154

>>> Press release: Join Miami-Dade Parks EcoAdventures and Adventure Sports Miami for a series of high adventure guided kayak fishing excursions. This series will take you to many locations where the fishing is extreme. The Stiltsville Kayak Fishing Excursion will be held on Friday, January 6, 2012 from 6:15 am to 11:00 am.

Stiltsville, which is located on the bay side of Key Biscayne, consists of a series of flats separated by “finger channels.” This unique topography harbors excellent fishing grounds where a wide variety of species can be targeted in a relatively small area. Bonefish, permit, and tarpon can be targeted on the flats; although as water temps drop these fish are trickier to find. Not all fish are bothered by colder temps Spanish mackerel and bluefish can be found swarming the edge of the flats and the channels. These fish migrate down the east coast as winter approaches and there will be good numbers of them feeding in the Stiltsville area until spring. Large groupers started moving into the channels of Stiltsville in late November. These fish, which spend most of the year offshore, are great fighters and surprisingly aggressive in shallow water. They prefer to be in proximity of some structure and will attack all kinds of artificial and live baits. Snook can also be found right alongside grouper in the channels of Stiltsville this time of year. Snook use the deep running water of the channel to stay warm; this is especially true when cold fronts are in the area. Other commonly caught species in the Stiltsville area include mangrove snappers, mutton snappers, barracuda, and jacks.

The cost is $150.00 per person and includes a kayak, paddle, safety equipment, guides, and transportation by boat to the fishing location. To make your reservation please call (305) 365-3018. Space is limited so make your reservation early. >>> About the Miami-Dade Park and Recreation Department (MDPR): Nationally accredited, a three-time winner of the National Gold Medal Award, 2009 Florida Governor’s Sterling Award winner for excellence in management and operations, MDPR is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of 263 parks and more than 12,848 acres of land. It is one of the most unique park and recreation systems in the world. Made up of more than just playgrounds and athletic fields, it also comprises out-of-school, sports-development, and summer-camp programs; programs for seniors and people with disabilities; educational nature centers and nature preserves; environmental restoration efforts; arts and culture programs and events; the renowned Zoo Miami and the Deering Estate at Cutler; the Crandon Tennis Center, home of the Sony Ericsson Open; golf courses; beaches; marinas; campgrounds; pools; and more. For information about MDPR the public can call 3-1-1 or visit www.miamidade.gov/parks.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> PAST WDR: DEC. 25, 2005: Audit committee stunned with $175,000 in 2004 bank charges for JESCA, senior management says they did not know

The Miami-Dade Public Schools board Audit Advisory Committee was stunned Wednesday after a community-based organization’s 2004 audit reflected the mother of all banking bounced check charges coming in for the year at $175,502. The charges with Wachovia Bank were accumulated because thousands of these checks were issued with the attendant bank charges. The checks were paid even though there were insufficient funds in the account and the bank charged unavailable/uncollected funds fees of around $35.00 per check. Further, the audit committee voted to have the district’s office of Management and Compliance Audits review how the public schools $1 million in yearly funding is being spent and to report those findings to the school board.

The organization that racked up these astronomical fees was the venerable 80-year old James E. Scott Community Association, Inc. (JESCA). JESCA with $8.5 million in revenues for the year has been under an audit watch in the past by the school district. However, a few years ago they hired a new chief financial officer, but since then financial issues with JESCA continued to pop up and the audit committee is losing patience with the agency that provides “social services including alternative education programs for students unable to succeed in the public schools,” states the school district’s Chief Auditor Allen Vann in an Oct. 19 memo to audit committee members. JESCA’s President & CEO is Dorrin D. Rolle. He took over running the organization a decade ago after his predecessor went to jail. Rolle was paid $161,000 last year in this capacity and he is a Miami-Dade County Commissioner. He was unable to attend the audit committee meeting his representatives said.

Audit Committee chair Jeffrey B. Shapiro, an attorney said, “We need an intervention, this cannot go on… and when you see numbers like this, we get concerned.” He noted the $1 million from the district is “not an insignificant number” and “I don’t want to prolong the agony, [discussing the issue] which is what this is,” he said. JESCA vice president Sylvia Styles told the committee members that Rolle and she were both “not aware this was happening.” Further, she challenged school board member Evelyn Langlieb Greer’s earlier characterization that “this is not new for JESCA” since a decade ago when the former “CEO back then went to jail,” Greer had said.

Styles said in this case “no money was stolen, we work hard and have not misappropriated any” school district funds. The vice president said JESCA has had some “hard [financial] challenges but they are now resolved. John Antieau, CPA, JESCA’s new chief financial officer said, “It would only be speculation what happened.” He noted the organization had 17 separate bank accounts, of which “two we write checks out” of and “since I started. I see all the checks [for example] that cleared today,” he said. Antieau believes all bank charges for this year will drop to $35,000 to $50,000 and they are trying to get a local bank since the organization’s Wachovia account representative is in Philadelphia, Pa.

“We would welcome them looking at our books we don’t have a problem with that,” Rolle told the Watchdog Report Thursday when asked about the audit findings. He said the overdrafts were “coming at a time when they were waiting for a grant to come through, the funding sources being late on sending us the money, those kinds of things. “They had gone to the bank to see if some of those funds could be retrieved for the agency, but that should not happen again,” he said. The commissioner said this happened during “the reign of CFO Brigette Yee.” And he is confident that Antieau will turn that around since “he has worked with non-profits before and he has come in and created a new system to make sure that does not happen again,” saying “The old fiscal director let the checks out which she should not have been done,” and the new controls should resolve that issue, said Rolle. >>> Editor’s note: JESCA declared bankruptcy a few years ago and Rolle lost his commission District 2 seat in a November 2010 election.

Anything unusual happen at the end of the audit committee meeting?

School Board member Marta Perez (net worth $2.18 million) asked to speak at the end of the meeting and Shapiro allowed her. She then verbally opened up on the audit board chair for calling her a “gadfly” and she demanded an apology. Shapiro responded that they had discussed the issue privately, but now that it is public. He stuck by his choice of words and in this case, the definition of the word does not necessarily have negative connotations. The board after the exchange took no action and they then adjourned the meeting.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> FRB passes $700,000 settlement to get out of 10-year lease not needed in Aventura plaza, but “disturbing” since CEO Roldan never got PHT board approval

The Jackson Health System Financial Recovery Board (FRB) voted 3-2 Friday morning to pay a $700,000 settlement with ACC/GP Development LLC after it was disclosed the lease in a medical plaza in Aventura for ten-years could have a $10 million price tag at the worst, and included the wrinkle that past PHT CEO Eneida Roldan, M.D. M.B.A., was not authorized to enter into the contract. Since the old PHT board had not approved the amendment back in September 2010. The health trust had to put up a $400,000 security deposit and the way the lease was structured, the higher payments came later. “It was small payments upfront, but at the end of ten years the lease payments are very high,” said a Jackson vice president.

The payments are in two $350,000 checks due late in December and in January and the landlord will not pursue any further legal claims. The FRB board was split on the issue because there is also a medical group, South Florida Multiple Specialists that was to work for the Trust and use the facility but this was a separate issue, and what any lawsuit by them might be was a different matter. The medical group “is holding us up,” said CEO Carlos Migoya and “they knew we were not going in there.” Further, the president said, “they are trying to get a free ride,” and the “land lord is not interested in having that group as a tenet without an anchor like Jackson,” the former banker said. The medical group may file their own lawsuit as well since Jackson pulled out of the agreement, but the consensus was it was better to settle with the property owner, because while the Trust had the case law in its favor, buttressed by the fact the board did not approve the signed amendment. The decision was to close one large part of the liability matter that would likely cost more in the future if a clean settlement were not reached now.

What about the past CEO Roldan decision to sign on her own?

Roldan ran Jackson for about two-years before departing on May 1 and she was followed by Migoya. Trust documentation in the settlement resolution that was passed by the FRB, notes “neither [party] had been authorized by the PHT governing board and was not within the president’s and CEO’s authority to execute [such] a lease agreement without board approval.” FRB member Joe Arriola said he was “disturbed” by this breach of board approval, “for doing something totally out of her authority” and he “had no problem with suing her,” for this action. Editor’s note: I will do a follow-up on this story next week.

Arriola

>>> FRB member Khaghan Danial becomes voting member on body Friday morning

Mojdeh Khaghan Danial is officially a voting member on the seven-member Financial Recovery Board after she was added to FRB committees and the board approved the item. Khaghan Danial is an attorney, educated at Columbia University, and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez appointed her to the oversight body. Her activation on the FRB has been long in coming and she is expected to bring a different perspective versus the other six men on the board. FRB Chair Marcos Lapciuc has selected her to be on a variety of committees including Joint Conference, Fiscal, Compensation & Evaluation and she is vice chair of the Audits & Compliance and Facilities committees. The Watchdog Report wishes her good luck on this premiere citizen board that is trying to right Jackson Health System’s fiscal health.

What about the union negotiations?

FRB members urged Migoya and his team to wrap-up union negotiations with the nurses and other employees in the other unions because it just increases the need for further furloughs of employees, that has resulted in some unattended consequences says SEIU Local 1991 president Martha Baker, R.N. when it came to medical care and patient satisfaction. Migoya said they are meeting again in January and “both sides get it” and he hopes “to get it done in the first week in January,” that had the Jackson administration calling an official impasse with these talks earlier this month. FRB member Joaquin del Cueto said he thought, “It was imperative to get this resolved and they were talking about nickels,” and noted, “the furloughs are hurting us” when it comes to “customer service.” Arriola observed, “We are haggling over the little things when you have done 99 percent of the work,” and that needs to be resolved. Migoya closed the discussion saying “we can’t live like this,” and we have “got to put this to bed.”

What about the Florida Legislature?

FRB Chair Marcos Lapciuc said in a trip to the state capital recently that JHS and South Florida is “perceived as you have the banana republic thing,” noting that was not his opinion, but the skeptical environment the community faced. He said, “We have to show we are fixing our house,” and all “we want is are fair share,” of state funding since Miami-Dade is a donor county when it comes to bringing in revenues to state government.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Leaders wondering if Jungle Island HUD note payment will be made in Feb., jobs were created but business model a disappointment

Jungle Island’s U.S.HUD note payment is coming up for the next six-month payment February and there is concern the organization cannot cover the around $1.4 million payment, forcing the city and the county to cover what is left on the principle and interest on the original $25 million note, and officials are concerned. This Jungle Island HUD commitment is part of a total Miami-Dade County HUD agreement that is over $200 million in county obligations to the federal agency and why the outstanding loans must be kept current. The attraction’s construction began in 2000 and opened in 2003 and after four years in operation and beset by hurricanes and construction near by, it had missed $4.7 million in payments that had to be paid by Miami-Dade to keep the federal loan current. And Jungle Island would later get a loan of $4.7 million from the county commission but that note is coming due in 2012. Further, Jungle Islands attendance estimates also proved high and www.miamiherald.com reported a few years ago that it ranged around 450,000 people yearly, but that was not enough to cover these obligations, but it did create 400 new jobs.

Further, during the early years since the inception, for six years there was no signed agreement between Miami-Dade, Miami and then Parrot Jungle for these HUD payments that had the county pony up the money every six months so that the much larger obligation did not go into default. And by 2006 $17.2 million was still owed on the note, and after Jungle Island could not pay its $1.44 million in property taxes in 2010 that were in the rears. At that time, Miami loaned the organization an $800,000 interest free loan, that required monthly payments of $16,667 over the four years to cover part of these tax obligations and reported in a past Watchdog Report EXTRA. And the whole process regarding the three party contract only concluded in late 2006 after three Miami Managers and three County Managers finally hashed out an agreement that had Miami with 80 percent of any obligation and Miami-Dade 20 percent.

And while Jungle Island is celebrating its 75th Anniversary this month at the new location that was the brainchild of Bern Levine, DVM and Ron Krongold who invested millions of their own money, but they also took a hefty chunk of public money to create the attraction that has had a few hic-ups over the years, like when a Liger (Half Lion and Tiger) large cat attraction, jumped the high fence and roamed freely where the public was for about an hour. The Watchdog Report has spoken to both Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $7,500) about the subject and they both indicated they were watching this issue very carefully and the matter is on a front burner. Readers should stay tuned and see how this plays out next year.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Mayor Bower’s New Year’s resolution “Protecting our tourism industry”

Mayor Mattie Herrera Bowers newsletter on gambling discussions: New Year’s Resolution: Protecting Our Tourism Industry: I want to thank all of you who have taken the time recently to attend one of several public forums on the future of our convention center. We heard you loud and clear when you said that you opposed a casino in Miami Beach. So do we as your city leaders.

That’s why we voted once again last week to oppose the gaming legislation filed in Tallahassee. We believe that Miami Beach — and the region as a whole — has more to lose overall than to gain from a massive expansion of this industry. That said, I have taken a balanced approach of keeping our options open should such legislation be forced upon us (fortunately, it doesn’t look like that will happen this year). I think it is important that we are talking to everyone on every side so that we are armed to protect the interests of our residents and businesses as much as possible. You always have to have a Plan B.

For today, our task is clear, if no less complex. We’ve got to move past the distraction of gaming and renovate our Miami Beach Convention Center. This past year we completed a master plan concept and began looking for ways to finance it. We also decided that in order to get the best possible project, we needed to attract the private industry. So we hired a consultant to find a handful of private investors, from developers to hotel operators and others (not casinos) who would propose a project that would include a convention center, hotel and other amenities somewhere on the roughly 50 acres the city owns in and around the existing structure.

In the next few weeks, an RFQ will be issued to establish a short-list of those potential partners. Shortly thereafter, an RFP will be released and we will get to see just what private industry believes a viable project could look like. As always, the process will be public, with ample opportunity for you to help us shape the future of Miami Beach. I hope that you will bring the same passion you’ve shown to this important task. Happy Holidays to you and your families. May 2012 bring peace and prosperity to all.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Gables officials’ breath sigh of relief after $5 million present comes with Biltmore Hotel new agreement

Mayor Jim Cason and Coral Gables Commissioners approved a new agreement with the management company running the Historic Biltmore Hotel on Monday after two-years of haggling. Seaway Corp. representatives came bearing gifts to the meeting to the tune of a $5 million check to cover $4.2 million in back rent and another $650,000 in past golf course fees. The Watchdog Report for years has been following this dispute and its resolution was critical to keeping the city’s budget on track.

The Watchdog Report contacted the mayor and commissioners asking what they thought about the settlement and Commissioner Frank Quesada, elected in April wrote back. “I’m happy that we have been able to resolve this problem that has been pending for 3 years. The Biltmore is one of the most important landmarks in our City and the agreement is a big win for residents. Additionally, this agreement is a great accomplishment for this Commission that has only been together for a few months. On a personal note, it’s satisfying to be a part of this settlement as it was a goal of mine, and a promise I made to residents, to resolve this dispute when I ran for office,” wrote the attorney who has now joined his father’s law practice.

Long serving Commissioner Maria Anderson also expressed her relief on the issue. “I’m glad this is over and we can move on. I’ve had lots of positive feedback from residents who were pleasantly surprised by the outcome, and who had given up on the city ever recouping its money. Thanks go to the City Team, City Manager Pat Salerno, City Attorney Craig Leen, outside special counsel and city staff who worked tirelessly to help make this happen,” wrote Anderson first elected in 2001. To read a longer story go to: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/19/2553506/biltmore-hotel-coral-gables-settle.html

VILLAGE OF MIAMI SHORES

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott names one reappointment and taps four others to the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council.

Kelly W. Horton, 43, of Tallahassee, is the vice president of governmental affairs for Heffley and Associates. She is reappointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending August 20, 2015.

Ronald H. Brown, 47, of Miami, is the art director for SYNQ Studios. He succeeds Alan Randolph and is appointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending August 19, 2013.

Neil D. Crilly, 49, of Miami Shores, is the senior executive director of the Florida Chapter of the Recording Academy. He succeeds Ann Herberger and is appointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending August 19, 2013.

Frank M. Patterson, 50, of Tallahassee, is dean of the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University. He succeeds Stephen Schlow and is appointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending August 20, 2014.

Thomas W. Roush, 48, of Pensacola, is the film commissioner for the Pensacola area. He succeeds Vivian Myrtetus and is appointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending August 20, 2012.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Press release: Ft. Lauderdale area halfway house operator pleads guilty to fraud and kickback scam ~ Three Other Halfway House Operators Sentenced to Prison

The manager and operator of a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-area halfway house pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a Medicare fraud kickback scheme that funneled patients to a fraudulent mental health provider, American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC), announced the Department of Justice, FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Butler Moultrie, 46, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. According to court documents, most of the residents at Moultrie’s halfway house were recovering from drug and/or alcohol addictions. Nevertheless, Moultrie agreed to refer Medicare beneficiaries who resided at his halfway house to ATC purportedly to receive intensive mental health services called partial hospitalization program (PHP) treatment in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks. Moultrie knew that such kickbacks were illegal, and he knew that ATC fraudulently billed the Medicare program for the PHP services. Moultrie knew that no doctor had prescribed PHP treatment for his patient referrals, and he knew that his residents required drug and/or alcohol addiction treatment rather than mental health services.

According to court filings, ATC’s owners and operators paid kickbacks to owners and operators of assisted living facilities and halfway houses, including Moultrie, and to patient brokers in exchange for delivering ineligible patients to ATC and its related company, the American Sleep Institute (ASI). In some cases, the patients received a portion of those kickbacks. Throughout the course of the ATC conspiracy, millions of dollars in kickbacks were paid in exchange for Medicare beneficiaries who did not qualify for PHP services. The ineligible beneficiaries attended treatment programs that were not legitimate so that ATC and ASI could bill Medicare more than $200 million in medically unnecessary services. According to the plea agreement, Moultrie’s participation in the fraud resulted in approximately $1.9 million in fraudulent billing to the Medicare program. At sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 21, 2012, Moultrie faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Robert and Nikki Jenkins, two other managers and operators of halfway houses in Fort Lauderdale, were sentenced yesterday for referring beneficiaries to ATC in exchange for health care kickbacks. U.S. District Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno in Miami sentenced Robert Jenkins to 24 months in prison and Nikki Jenkins to 15 months in prison. Another halfway house operator, Irene Trematerra, was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro to 18 months in prison for her role in providing beneficiaries to ATC in exchange for kickbacks.

ATC, its management company Medlink Professional Management Group Inc., and various owners, managers, doctors, therapists, patient brokers and marketers of ATC, Medlink and ASI, were charged with various health care fraud, kickback, money laundering and other offenses in two indictments unsealed on Feb. 15, 2011. ATC, Medlink and nine of the individual defendants have pleaded guilty or have been convicted at trial. Other defendants are scheduled to begin trial on April 9, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz. >>> The guilty plea and sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; John V. Gillies, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office.

These cases are being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Steven Kim and Jennifer L. Saulino of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The cases were investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG and were brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. >>> Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,140 defendants that collectively have billed the Medicare program for more than $2.9 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> Attorney indicted for money manipulation and selling phony medical company shares

Press release: An attorney for a South Carolina health care device company, Signalife, was arrested on Dec. 18, 2011, at Los Angeles International Airport on charges related to his alleged role in a multi-million dollar market manipulation fraud scheme, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division announced today. An indictment unsealed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida charges attorney Mitchell J. Stein, 53, of Hidden Hills, Calif., and Boca Raton, Fla., with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, three counts of securities fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of the proceeds of the offenses.

The indictment alleges that Stein engaged in a scheme to artificially inflate the stock price of Signalife Inc. by creating the false impression of sales activity for the company. Signalife, now known as Heart Tronics, was a publicly traded company that purportedly sold electronic heart monitoring devices. According to the indictment, Stein’s wife held approximately 85 percent of the shares of Signalife. The indictment alleges that Stein and his co-conspirators created fake purchase orders and related documents from fictitious customers and then caused Signalife to issue press releases and file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) trumpeting these fictitious sales. The indictment also alleges that in a further effort to create the false appearance of sales activity, Stein arranged to have Signalife products shipped to and temporarily stored with an individual who had not purchased any products.

The indictment further alleges that Stein and his co-conspirators sold shares of Signalife stock at inflated prices, disguising the fact that they were doing so by placing the shares in purportedly blind trusts. In addition to selling shares in that manner, Stein and his co-conspirators allegedly also caused Signalife to issue additional shares to third parties so that those third parties could sell the shares and remit the proceeds of those sales to Stein and his co-conspirators. According to the indictment, Stein also conspired to obstruct an SEC investigation into Heart Tronics by testifying falsely and arranging for others to testify falsely in an effort to conceal the fraud scheme.

If convicted, Stein faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as up to 10 years in prison on each count of money laundering and up to five years in prison on the conspiracy to obstruct justice count. The SEC conducted a parallel investigation and today announced its filing of a civil enforcement action against Stein and others. >>> The department thanks the SEC for its substantial assistance in this matter. This continuing investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Andrew H. Warren and Albert B. Stieglitz Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. >> An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law. This prosecution is part of efforts underway by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes. For more information about the task force visit: www.stopfraud.gov.

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott announced the reappointment of William Berger to the District Board of Trustees, Palm Beach State College.

Berger, 67, of Boca Raton, has been a senior partner at Greenspoon Marder P.A. since 1995. He has also served on the Fourth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission since 2009. Berger has served on the board of directors of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County since 2010 and on the board of directors for HomeSafe since 1999. He has also been a trustee of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce since 1997 and a trustee for the North Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce since 2005. Berger is also a founding member of the board of directors for Paradise Bank and a trustee for the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1967 to 1972. Berger received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Buffalo and a law degree from the Brooklyn Law School. He is reappointed for a term beginning December 22, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

POLK COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott says Coca-Cola Refreshments is investing $99 million to expand its Main Street juice production facility in Auburndale.

The expansion also includes adding 60 new jobs in Polk County with an average compensation above both the county and state averages. “Coca-Cola’s choice of Auburndale for its expansion is a testament to the state’s supportive business environment and strong capabilities for serving corporate and manufacturing needs,” said Governor Scott. “It’s also an outcome of our city and county partners’ commitment to growing Florida’s manufacturing base to build a healthier economy.” As part of the $99 million investment in the 720,000-square-foot facility, the company is adding another juice production line for Simply, one of Coca-Cola’s fastest growing brands. Additional facility improvements include manufacturing, telecommunications and technology upgrades, along with expanding the size of the facility more than 20 percent.

The State of Florida paved the way for the expansion by granting Polk County $400,000 from its Economic Development Transportation Fund for road infrastructure needs pertaining to the expansion. The state also awarded Coca-Cola with incentives from the Qualified Target Industry Fund, which if used in full, would value $180,000 in tax rebates, of which 20 percent will be provided by the City of Auburndale and Polk County. “Through Coca-Cola’s public-private partnership with the State of Florida, Polk County and the City of Auburndale, we are putting more people to work and strengthening the local community,” said Troy Ellis, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing for Coca-Cola Refreshments. “While Coca-Cola is a global company, we are integral parts of the communities where we operate and our associates live and work. This investment strengthens our ties to Auburndale, Polk County and the State of Florida.”

Sam Johnson, chairman of the Board of Polk County Commissioners said, “Coca-Cola is a model corporate citizen in Polk County and we are thankful for the positive impact it has on our local community by putting people to work and investing in our community.” Construction first began on Coca-Cola’s Main Street facility in June 2002, and production of Simply Orange started in the summer of 2003. Since breaking ground, Coca-Cola has invested more than $450 million, including this most recent announcement, to upgrade the facility and expand production capacity to meet consumer and customer demands. The 60 new jobs will be in addition to the 361 full-time associates Coca-Cola currently employs at its Main Street facility. “We are so pleased that Coca-Cola Refreshments chose to expand operations here in Auburndale,” said the city’s mayor, Keith Cowie. “Coca-Cola has proven to be a great business neighbor to the Auburndale community. The jobs are so important to improving the economic climate here in Polk County.” Polk County Manager Jim Freeman added that “especially during a time of high unemployment, we are grateful for companies like Coca-Cola, which continues to reinvest in our community and provide sustainable employment for our citizens. Coca-Cola’s commitment in Polk County matches our commitment to maintain a strong business climate.” Coca-Cola employs more than 6,000 people throughout Florida in 34 facilities, including seven manufacturing plants and 15 distribution centers.

DUVAL COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott reappoints Joseph “Mike” Hogan as Chair to the Public Employees Relations Commission.

Hogan, 61, of Jacksonville, has been serving on the Public Employees Relations Commission since July 2011. Previously, he served as the Duval County Tax Collector from 2003 to 2011, as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2003 and as a city councilman for the City of Jacksonville from 1991 to 1999. Hogan was also employed by AT&T for 25 years as a human resources specialist and labor relations manager. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida. Hogan is reappointed as Chair for a term beginning January 2, 2012, and ending January 1, 2016. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

NASSAU COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Dr. Valerie Rao as District 4 Medical Examiner, serving Clay, Duval and Nassau counties. Rao, 67, of Jacksonville, is a forensic pathologist. She succeeds Dr. Margarita Arruza and is appointed for a term beginning December 19, 2011, and ending July 1, 2012.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> This is your chance for great stuff and support the Dec. 31 King Mango Strut. The annual satirical street parade has been a model of civic engagement and civil uprising with enough material for a pickapeppa spray and sauce combination. In this interactive parade, the spectators, the true occupiers, are encouraged to bring tents, lawn chairs and cardboard signs. King Mango is still looking for a few good MangoHeads to strut in the parade. There are no entry fees, no special skills or x-factor auditions required; just join the fun and strut your funny. If your group needs ideas or people, come to our meeting tonight. We also need behind-the-scenes help.

If you want to participate, contact the King at kingmangostrut@gmail.com or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171.For more information check out our new website at www.kingmangostrut.org.Follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/kingmangostrut for the latest Mango news & tidbits. >> Putting the NUT back in CocoNUT Grove since 1982: What: King Mango Strut Parade – When: Saturday, December 31st 2pm – Where: Downtown Coconut Grove, Florida – Corner of Commodore and Main

>>> Please find the Coalition’s detailed media advisory below regarding the 27th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference, January 5-8, 2012 – Everglades Restoration: Worth Every Penny! Please let me know if you have any questions or are interested in our complimentary media registration. Hope to see you there!
*Follow NPCA on Twitter: @NPCA -Protecting Our National Parks for Future Generations

>>> FREE LECTURE AT THE DEERING ESTATE AT CUTLER — In partnership with the Archaeological Society of Southern Florida, the Deering Estate at Cutler presents a free lecture on the 2nd Thursday of each month. The next lecture is scheduled for Thursday, January 12th at 7:00 pm in the Visitor Center Auditorium at the Deering Estate. The lectures are free and open to the public. When: Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 7:00 pm, Topic: “Archaeology and the Bible: The 2011 Field Season at Hazor, Israel” Presenter: Dr. McKinney, Associate Professor of Geology at Miami Dade College. Hazor, a Canaanite site that dates before Israel and is mentioned in the Bible, was the site of the dig that Curtis McKinney Ph.D. revisited in the summer of 2011. Hazor, a literate society, based on cuneiform texts found on tablets, is actually on the site where seven cities were stacked upon each other. The crews’ task was to excavate down through the layers of cities.

Each season, at Hazor, a crew of archaeologists and volunteers, sponsored by the Hebrew University and the Israel Exploration Society, have been inching closer to what they hope is the royal archives of cuneiform tablets which could contain eyewitness reports of the conquest of Israel by Joshua, Deborah, or perhaps someone else. This is one of the mysteries of the Bible which contains conflicting versions of the conquest of Israel. Finding the archives could resolve the question on the origin of the Israelites: out of Egypt (Exodus) or home grown Canaanites (No Exodus). In the summer of 2011, the crew reached the top of the Palace Walls of King Jabin whom Joshua claims to have killed. The walls are burnt mud brick. They are crossed by stone walls of the 11th century BCE. Dr. McKinney, currently an Associate Professor of Geology at Miami Dade College, plans to return this summer as this could be the year! >> About the Deering Estate at Cutler: The Deering Estate at Cutler, a Miami-Dade County Park, is located at 16701 SW 72 Avenue in Miami. This 444-acre natural and archeological preserve and historic site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a center for education, culture and recreation. Historic house tours are offered daily at 10:30 am & 3:00 pm with admission to the Estate. EcoAdventure Tours are also offered throughout the year for an additional fee. For more information on the Deering Estate’s educational and cultural programs, please visit www.deeringestate.org

EDITORIALS

>>> PAST WDR: DEC. 25, 2005: Miami-Dade Commissioners & other elected officials should resign from position if they do not like the compensation of office & media attention

The Miami-Dade County Commission last week had an extensive discussion about the benefits they receive and the recent negative press on the matter. Currently their benefit package is about $55,000. County Commissioner Barbara Jordan (Net worth $1.97 million) had introduced legislation that would have extended 10-years of free health care for elected officials, their dependents and senior county staff under certain conditions and it passed. The program was estimated to cost $1 million once it got underway. However, Mayor Carlos Alvarez (Net worth $1.74 million) vetoed the item recently and the commission was unable to override that action. However, during the commission debate there was extensive discussion about benefits and the challenges of the commission office but it also revealed what commissioners were objecting to was the benefit going to the senior executives, but not to themselves.

Further, they chided The Miami Herald for not listing the benefit package county Mayor Carlos Alvarez gets and his $200,000 plus salary and other perks that go with being the mayor with a $3.2 million office budget. However, the one thing elected officials forget is the level of benefits is known when you run for office and it is disingenuous for them to carp about the pay and benefits once in office and if they are that dissatisfied. They should resign from the commission district and allow someone that agrees with the current salary and benefit package and understands public service does not always mean commiserate remuneration. The commissioners wondered why there is a negative perception in the public eye but the Watchdog Report knows a number of reasons. The public finds it outrageous when the commission in 2004 asked voters to approve a $84,000 yearly salary but also added a second question regarding 16-year term limits but with only one vote for both questions. It totally confused people and was only done to enhance the salary issue passing.

Further, the public would give commissioners a decent salary but it would also include commissioners not having any outside jobs, and 16-years in office is not term limits, but a office for life for the incumbents unless an elected official dies or is indicted. The commission also does not endear itself with voters when they put an issue on a ballot in July on an obscure day as if no one will notice it. However, voters do notice it, as was the case in late July 1999 when voters soundly rejected a one-cent countywide sales tax by a 2 to 1 vote for transportation projects after such a ploy was attempted.

Further, if you look at other examples of commission decisions you can see a subtle pattern of pushing certain issues while ignoring others and the public sees that as well. The commissioners do have the right to protest media stories if the stories are biased but the sanctimonious attitude by some elected officials leaves voters cold and skeptical. If commissioners want to change the public’s attitude it will take more than complaining to the cameras in the chambers, and in the press, and if they do not like the setup now. They should leave office immediately for it apparently is not for them under the existing form of governance and pay, and people should not be forced to do an elected job that they find painful to do and the district’s voters certainly deserve much more than what they apparently are getting now. Disgruntled elected leaders.

LETTERS

>>> Neighbors 4 Neighbors thanks the community for helping millions of people over past 20 years

As we count our blessings this holiday season, you are at the top of our list. Your generous donations of time, talent and money, have eased the burden for literally millions of your neighbors in need. In August of 2012, Neighbors 4 Neighbors will be 20 years old. Those of you who experienced Hurricane Andrew will most likely never forget the horror, followed by the outpouring of kindness. Throughout the past 19 years, you have reached out to help not only victims of natural disasters, but those experiencing personal disasters. To see some of the recent stories on CBS4 about how your neighbors are helping click here.

The Neighbors 4 Neighbors Family Fund is a lifeline for those who need a small hand up to become self-sufficient. Distributions from our Family fund are made only once, when the money will solve a problem that will not recur. Payments are made directly to the creditor or landlord. Often gift cards are purchased for food and clothing. This year The Family Fund has distributed over $10,000 in gift cards for food. Food assistance has become the most frequent request. We need your help to continue filling this need. As you review your end of year giving, we ask that you consider a donation in any amount to our Family Fund. Donations can be made online here. We wish you a holiday filled with hope and joy. Thank you for being a part of our family. With gratitude, The Neighbors 4 Neighbors Staff and Board of Directors

>>> Reader says sayonara after ten years, now in Argentina

I have enjoyed your report for nearly 10 years, stemming from my time working for Katherine Harris in Tallahassee. Now that I am living in Argentina, however, I have to focus more on the local scene here. Yes, I somehow thought that your approach reflected an objectivity that comes from an acquaintance with other countries. Good luck in your very useful efforts as you move forward.

Hugh

>>> Dan, Have you seen the street sign on NW 27 Ave. near Flanigan’s in Coconut Grove? “NW 27AV / Unity Blvd” “Grepeland Blvd” GREPELAND ? I asked a few old time Miamians and none have heard of this alternate spelling…Might be a fun story.

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
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NOTE: Invoice is for Yearly supporter/sponsorship Rates: Thank you.

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Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker

Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125
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Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage. The Watchdog Report webpage is free, has no ads, pops-up quickly and is just the news in a mainstream reporting manner.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> 97-homeless people perished on the Miami-Dade streets, up from 77 last year, braking downward trend

The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust held its yearly Homeless Memorial & Vigil Friday afternoon for the souls that died on the county’s streets over the past year, and it was up from 77 people to 97 that perished living outdoors. The Trust while reducing the number of homeless on the streets from over 7,500 in 1992 to where there are 785 men and women still on the streets the past homeless census count concluded. The organization and its many community partners (who have raised some $95 million from the private sector over the years) are still trying to reduce that number and end panhandling that is estimated to be around $30 million in donations to the homeless and is contrary to Trust policy. Ron Book, the long time Trust chair told the board he had spoken to one of the organization’s partners, the Miami Commission Thursday. Where he relayed the history of the Trust and how it has evolved through the past two decades since it started to get a percentage of the local food and beverage (F/B) tax paid by consumers and tourists. Currently that tax brings in about $14.1 million and another $20.7 million in funding came in from U.S. HUD dollars, (It should be noted that F/B tax of $1.8 million goes to provide Domestic Violence services through the DV Oversight Board that has 46 beds available for this use in the DV shelter). The Trust in its case has 1,593 beds available and currently is busting at the seams and has a few dozen homeless families living in local hotels at reduced bed rates.

Miami Commission Chair Willy Gort called the situation in downtown Miami regarding the homeless a “crisis,” at the commission meeting and wondered if “the large population of mentally ill,” found in the area was because the county’s “Doral facility had closed?” He told Book when it came to this issue of people living on the street. “We have to work as a team,” on this problem and is exasperated by the high mental illness rate found in Miami-Dade, that used to be around 9.3 percent of the community’s population. But 2010 Census data suggests that older number is to low and may in fact be around 11 percent.

>>> White House press release: Salazar Lauds Proposed Early Restoration Projects Under Deepwater Horizon National Resource Damage Assessment ~ Eight projects – first set to come of $1 billion agreement with BP to fund early restoration – expected to help restore Gulf Coast’s environment and strengthen economy

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today commended the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees for proposing an initial set of restoration projects in the Gulf Coast region as part of the agreement with BP to fund $1 billion in early restoration projects. The first phase of projects – made available for public comment today – is comprised of eight projects in four Gulf Coast states that total more than $57 million and include initiatives to restore oyster beds, marshes, dunes and nearshore reefs. “These initial projects demonstrate our determination to hit the ground running when it comes to restoring the Gulf of Mexico after the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon spill,” Secretary Salazar said. “We know that this is just a beginning of what will be an important process to ensure that those responsible for the spill are held fully accountable, and this is a solid start to our restoration efforts.”

Salazar made the comments while touring the P&J oyster company, a family-owned business that has been harvesting oysters in New Orleans’ French Quarter for 130 years. Salazar noted that one of the two projects proposed for the state of Louisiana is approximately $14 million for an oyster cultch project that involves the placement of oyster cultch onto approximately 850 acres of public oyster seed grounds throughout coastal Louisiana, as well as construction of an oyster hatchery facility that would produce supplemental larvae and seed. “By restoring oyster beds, we are ensuring a way of life continues along the Gulf Coast and bolstering the local economy that was hard hit by the Deepwater Horizon spill,” Salazar said.

Today’s announcement builds upon efforts by the Obama Administration’s Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force that is working to develop a comprehensive, long-term strategy to return the health and strength back to the Gulf Coast’s wetlands, beaches, reefs and other habitats, and to address the decline to the region’s natural resources in decades past. Following the announcement, Salazar met with local community leaders in New Orleans to discuss the challenges and potential solutions for developing the Lafitte Corridor Greenway and Revitalization Project, a proposed pilot site identified under the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Additional information on today’s NRDA Trustee announcement is available HERE.

>>> Press release: Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement after the House passed legislation to fund government operations through Fiscal Year 2012:

“While I am disappointed that language authored by Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart dealing with Cuba travel was taken out of this bill due to President Obama’s insistence, I am pleased that one harmful provision that would have economically benefitted the Castro regime was removed, and that another was prevented from being included in the previous version. Both were attempts at easing financing restrictions on the Cuban regime, and both would have given the dictatorship a concession it is seeking.

“Like most legislation, this bill is not perfect. However, I believe that it is an important bill which, while neutral on Cuba, prevents our government from shutting down and takes significant steps to get spending under control and spur job creation.” NOTE: The two provisions that were not included would have allowed the Castro regime access to U.S. financial institutions and would have removed restrictions mandating that the Castro regime pay cash in advance of U.S. goods reaching Cuba.

>>> Press release: Looking Back on 2011 – By Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

As the year draws to a close and we look back at all that 2011 brought us, there is much to be thankful for this year, despite some of the challenges we’ve faced.
To start off with a significant accomplishment, a report released in December shows that an additional 2.5 million young people now have health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act. And in Florida, parents have been able to keep some 78,000 young adults on their insurance. Additionally, seniors are seeing more benefits this year as a result of the health care reform law that passed last year. In South Florida, we have more than 120,000 seniors on Medicare, who now have access to free annual preventive care services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, and annual wellness visits. The Affordable Care Act also caps out-of-pocket expenses, even for private insurance plans, and works to close the donut hole completely over the next nine years, saving seniors more than $3,000 a year in drug costs. We’ve been fighting to make sure that hard work pays off for middle class families and that everyone has a fair shot at the American dream.

We’ve seen some progress, for example the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent in November from 9 percent in October. Job creation was steady, adding 140,000 private sector jobs, making it the 21st straight month of private sector job growth, with 2.9 million jobs added during that period. These are good numbers, but there is still much more to be done. One effort I supported in Washington to help turn our economy around and boost job creation was the American Jobs Act. Earlier this year, I met with three local independent small business owners from Hallandale, Miami and Hollywood to talk about a specific piece of legislation in the American Jobs Act that would help 98 percent of all small businesses in America by providing much-needed payroll tax relief and deductions for buying equipment and hiring veterans.

To help our Florida veterans who are looking for employment and to help small businesses find the workers they need, Rep. Ted Deutch and I hosted a Veterans Jobs Fair at the Fort Lauderdale Armory on Dec. 3 and we had a great turnout from businesses, veterans, and active duty guardsmen. The event happened shortly after the passage of new tax credits for employers who hire unemployed veterans. With so many of our troops returning home to a difficult economy after serving bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan, this event provided some of our servicemen and women with an opportunity to meet with local employers interested in hiring a hero. As we end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are redoubling our efforts at home by rebuilding the American economy and restoring the American dream for our children. We must ensure that our returning veterans can get jobs, housing, and the health care they deserve after honorably serving our country and making America safer and stronger.

In 2012 I’ll continue to work hard on behalf of the people of South Florida, both in Florida and in Washington. I’ll continue to stand up for our school children, whether it’s fighting against cuts to their education or making sure that law enforcement has the resources they need to protect them from online predators. I’ll continue to champion the interests of small businesses and meet with owners and employees regularly at events like my yearly small business workshops and roundtables so I can hear directly from them about their concerns, challenges, and successes. I am proud to be an advocate for South Florida, and my office is always open to you. You can reach us in Pembroke Pines at 954-437-3936, in Aventura at 305-936-5724 and in Washington, DC at 202-225-7931. I’m also available online at http://wassermanschultz.house.gov, on Facebook, and Comcast-on-demand customers can stay up to date with my work for you on channel 890.

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly
To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

>>> See what was said about the Watchdog Report in the Miami New Times 2003 — Best of Miami — BEST CITIZEN — Daniel A. Ricker

Three years ago, we said Ricker was our Best Gadfly. Given his dedication and perseverance, this new honor, Best Citizen, is well deserved. Ricker goes to 2,500 mind-melting meetings annually, from the Public Health Trust’s purchasing subcommittee to the Efficiency and Competition Commission to the Alliance for Human Services’ nominating council to the school board’s audit committee. Sometimes he’s the only public observer. Object: to be the Public Citizen for all those out there who can’t attend, and to connect and serve as an information bridge among the special-interest-dominated Miami-Dade governmental institutions that seem so problematic and indifferent to the democratic process.

This month his e-mail newsletter, The Watchdog Report, celebrates its fourth anniversary. In a former life, Ricker made a handsome living as an international salesman of heart pacemakers. As the hard-working publisher of Watchdog Report, though, he’s struggling financially — this despite the fact that his weekly compendium of meeting summaries, analysis, interviews, and commentary has become essential reading for anyone involved in public affairs. What his written work may lack in polish, it more than makes up for in comprehensiveness. So raise a toast to the man whose official slogan says it all: “A community education resource — I go when you cannot!

FLORIDA

>>> Fissure expands within South Florida on destination gambling, debate continues but what of Tallahassee?

The Beacon Council held an all day forum Monday on the issue of destination resorts and casinos that Genting Group Malaysia is trying to build on The Miami Herald site and the Omni building on the bay, with a host of other corporations trying to make their play for a deal as well. A wide range of speakers including U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-FL who questioned and was concerned with the impact of large scale gambling would have on other industries coming to South Florida. Since we are trying to develop a biomedical industry, said Beacon Council head said Frank Nero to a county commission committee later in the week. The issue of gambling, though proponents say it is already being done statewide and note there are racetracks, pari-mutuels and the Florida Lottery for example.

But critics say this is opening the door to an explosion of the activity and a gambling bill is filed with the Florida Legislature and being sponsored by state Rep. Erick Fresen, R-Miami and state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Ft. Lauderdale (She did not attend the forum on Monday). However after Genting in November represented the project would add 100,000 jobs and called the state’s lower number of money generated in the endeavor at a senate committee meeting saying it was “bullsh…” That comment that did not sit well with the state senators at the committee and had Bogdanoff backing down some in her support of the bill and the projects proposed size that Genting now says can be scaled down.

Genting has been greasing the wheels by hiring 100 lobbyists said Nero and money is flowing into different political PACs and when it was first proposed. The Watchdog Report thought it would be passed in the state capital, but that certainty is being diminished as major community leader’s step forward and voices their concern to what is a major change of the local community fabric and Florida as a whole. The community debate will continue, but depending on what happens, what is decided could be one for the century in the Sunshine State.

>>> State Rep. Rogers in the spotlight, probe into past vote, had $103,158 net worth through May

State Rep. Hazelle “Hazel” Rogers, D-Lauderdale Lakes is in the spotlight this week and the former Lauderdale Lakes council member is being investigated by state and federal law enforcement agencies concerning her lobbying for a joint $6 million city and county community center and her receiving $20,000 from the builder, but was not divulged when she voted for the project back then. She was then elected to the Florida House in 2008 and is termed out in 2016. She represents House District 94 in Broward County, and has declined to talk about the issue with the press.

What do we know about her finances?

Rogers through May 2011 had a net worth of $103,158 and she lists $75,000 in household goods. Her home is worth $150,000, another house is valued at $30,000, there is $28,000 in savings, raw land is worth $18,000 and her total assets are $226,000. She lists liabilities of $26,000 and $66,200 on mortgages, a home equity loan is owed $44,400, a student loan has $9,400 owed, an auto loan wants $26,900 and there is $21,300 and $3,437 owed on credit cards. She lists $29,990 in income as a state representative and has a 50 percent interest in Premier Group Enterprise but no value listed. Here is a story on the probe

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-12-08/news/fl-hazelle-rogers-investigation-20111208_1_rogers-city-commissioner-potential-conflict

Rogers

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4434&SessionId=70

>>> Press release: STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT REGARDING THE RACE TO THE TOP EARLY LEARNING CHALLENGE

“It is unfortunate that the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services decided not to award Florida the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant which would have gone to the benefit of at-risk children.

“When Florida’s application was submitted for the grant in October, we made it clear that we would not accept grant money with strings attached, additional state spending obligations, or requirements that created new burdensome regulations on private providers. We stuck to our principles, and unfortunately our insistence against irresponsibly using one-time dollars for recurring government programs did not win the favor of the administration in Washington. “Creating a world-class education system that prepares students for the workforce is my top priority. We will accomplish this goal for the benefit of our current students and generations of Floridians to come without sacrificing responsible spending.

“Last week I announced my budget recommendations for next fiscal year, and I have asked for $1 billion in new funding for education. I have traveled the state and listened to the people of Florida, and it is clear that education, and its correlation to quality jobs, is the top issue facing our state. I will continue to work every day to ensure that every Floridian has the opportunity for a good education and a job.”

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott announced the reappointment of Toni K. Crawford and the appointment of Dr. Steven Wallace to the Children and Youth Cabinet.

Crawford, 71, of Ponte Vedra Beach, is a community volunteer and current chair of the Early Learning Coalition of Duval Inc. She is reappointed for a term beginning December 16, 2011, and ending August 27, 2015.

Dr. Wallace, 59, of Jacksonville, is the president of Florida State College at Jacksonville. He succeeds Donna “Gay” Lancaster and is appointed for a term beginning December 16, 2011, and ending August 27, 2015.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Redistricting 8th map comes to BCC, hot debate expected in public, Monestime putting on verbal “boxing gloves” for his first commission fight on issue

When it comes to Miami-Dade County Commissioner 2012 redistricting, forget the reference about making sausage, it is politicians fighting for their turf, tempers flare, but hopefully it comes out with a semi successful conclusion in the end. Some County Commissioners met Wednesday and again on Friday morning to review what had been accomplished to date after five public meetings on the subject, and a eighth proposed map of the 13 districts that must have roughly 192,000 residents with less than a 10 percent deviation of the population, that is based on the 2010 Census will emerge at Monday’s commission meeting where the new districts, after “the process,” and the public speaking on the maps, will be voted on and approved by the commission. Amendments and changes to the proposed map can be done at the meeting, but only if a majority of the commissioners agrees.

Randy Duval, an assistant county attorney who has been involved with the redistricting process for decades under the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter. He said the process was different from the state since the Fair District Amendment, passed by state voters in 2010, does not apply to Miami-Dade where state legislators in a number of cases will be “pitted” against themselves. He said there was no problem with creating a district “protecting the incumbents” since these people “know their district like the back of their hand and represent shared interests,” and drawing these type of districts create “a community of interest and the courts have acknowledge that,” he told commissioners. He further noted cities like Hialeah “have no right to [ask] not to be parceled up,” when it came to the number of commissioner districts that might be in the municipality or any other city in the county.

Commission Chair Joe Martinez had hoped to have ironed out the wrinkles over the week before this public and televised meeting. Martinez said at a Wednesday morning Sunshine meeting on the issue that now any disagreements will be televised and we “have to air it on the dais and [he] had hoped for congeniality,” though acknowledged it might get ugly. The body’s chair also said given the population increase to 2.5 million “everything cannot stay the same” when it came to the new districts. Commission Vice Chair Audrey Edmonson and chair of the redistricting sub committee where earlier maps were reviewed “Thought more commissioners would be interested in this [redistricting meeting],” that also had Commissioners Rebeca Sosa, Bruno Barreiro and Esteban Bovo Jr., in attendance. Bovo was pushing to have more of Hialeah in his district trying to reduce the number of commissioners representing the area, and Sosa said frankly she thought “the changes are small,” in the maps in the scheme of things. Further, the overall challenge is 65 percent of Miami-Dade is Hispanic and getting the correct number of people per the 13 commission districts, while trying to give other ethnic candidates a chance to hold office as well is the challenge.

Cartographer Guillermo Olmedillo, hired as the redistricting consultant has kept the district maps similar from 2002, the last time districts were redrawn, but these new maps are still generating controversy. He said the goal was to have “closer to zero deviations,” on each districts population saying the smaller the variation, the “better it is.” At Friday’s subsequent public meeting between Commissioner Jean Monestime and Barbara Jordan in the morning. He carped that his inner city District 2 is the one taking all the hits when it came to “exchanges and changes,” of his district and he noted the area drawn was none of which he had asked to be changed. Jordan noted she had given some 260 residents from her District 1 back to his district but for both of them this is the first time they had done redistricting, and Monestime is girding up for a fight at the upcoming commission meeting. I am new at this and I “want to do this with civility,” but I am adamant and “this will be my first fight” with fellow commissioners. And I am “going to go out after this meeting and buy some boxing gloves and get ready for my first fight,” for the anticipated controversial meeting. And while a vigorous discussion by commissioners is expected Monday, given the overall make-up of the commission. If any changes to the current proposed eighth maps are made. The changes will be very small in nature the Watchdog Report predicts in the scheme of things. To watch the commission meeting go to www.miamidade.gov

Jordan

Monestime

Martinez

Edmonson

Bovo

Sosa

Barreiro

>>> M-DC to float another $820 million in bonds this summer, CFO Marquez tells Wall Street reps Marlins stadium bonds was “good bond transaction”

The Miami-Dade is planning another big county bond sale and the lead investment firms were picked last week by the Managers Finance Committee meeting chaired by Vice Mayor and CFO Ed Marquez. The committee is made up of a wide swath of people including the CFO of Miami-Dade Public Schools to a representative of private enterprise. The 22 people in the 29A conference room included some of the top investment firms from Wall Street and the topic was the selling of $600 million in transit bonds to help pay for the needed Metro-Rail trains and another $230 million in bonds were to retire past bonds issued in the late 1990s. However, with a U.S. SEC ongoing investigation regarding the selling of bonds to fund the $2.5 billion Miami Marlins when the final payments after 40 years is completed. There was an undercurrent at the meeting that more effort in the educating bondholders might be necessary. Though, on the plus side Marquez said, when it came “to the Marlins bonds,” and “the SEC, we have nothing to hide and it was a good bond transaction,” said the county CFO.

Part of the transit bond money is to pay off a $100 bond anticipation note and to fund “the purchase of new rail cars and the transit systems infrastructure renewal program,” said Marquez. He anticipates the deal will go to the county commission at their “July meeting.” And when it comes to the refunding securities, the bonds and the funding stream, which is the county’s Convention Development Tax revenues, and in attached documents it notes. The bond security request “is somewhat unconventional as it is essentially a special tax on hotels.” And the revenue stream “may not be as easily understood by investors as other more generic revenue pledges.” Further, the analysis written by an outside financial firm’s representative dated Sept. 21, 2011. He states in his opinion that explaining the technical flow of the “funds, which likely will not be readily understood by investors without careful explanation and premarketing efforts,” must be considered. The committee after a short discussion picked JP Morgan to be the lead firm for the transit bonds and Citi Group Capital Market was tapped to lead the refunding of the older bonds securities sales.

>>> Multiple Union agreements, some at impasse are on the Dec. 19 BCC agenda and county PBA President John Rivera is requesting four-hours at the commission meeting to argue his case. To review the agenda go to http://www.miamidade.gov/govaction/commagenda.asp?cmbmeetdate=3155&file=true&changes=true

>>> Press release: Statement from Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners Chairman Joe A. Martinez

It is disappointing; to say the least, for a project with full support from the Board of County Commissioners to not take place at the Homestead Air Reserve Base. Although I respect the reservations the United States Air Force may have about hosting this event on its airbase, I don’t agree with the Air Force’s position. The Miami International Air Show will highlight not only Miami Dade County but North America and the aeronautical industry, as well as stimulate job growth and revenue in these tough economic times. As Chairman of the Board, I thank our congressional delegation, especially Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for the hard work and effort they put into trying to make the Miami International Air Show at the Homestead Air Reserve Base proposal a reality.

>>> County Ethics Commission press release: Ethics Commissioners ruled that a database manager for the Miami-Dade Park & Recreation Department may continue outside employment assisting developers of affordable housing with financial and environmental analyses under certain conditions. In RQO 11-30, Zafar Ahmed stated that he may be asked to assist the Parks Dept. in a joint initiative with the Miami-Dade Housing Agency, but that he will not provide technical support for developers who have been selected for the public housing agency projects. The Ethics Commission opined that as long as he has his supervisor’s approval, Ahmed may continue his consulting work, but he cannot work with any firm that is seeking grant or other technical assistance from the Parks Dept., must submit a list of his clients to his supervisors annually and may not meet with county staff about any client.

>>> M-DC Ethics Commission: The Ethics Commission presented a plaque to Staff General Counsel Ardyth Walker in recognition of her 13 years of service to the agency. Following her resignation from the post, effective tomorrow (12/15), her responsibilities will be assumed by other staff members.

>>> GMCVB press release: 18TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF JOB INCREASES–RECORD LEI$URE AND HO$PITALITY JOB$ IN GREATER MIAMI AND THE BEACHES DURING MONTH OF NOVEMBER 2011
Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality Industry JOBS reached a RECORD high for November with an increase of +2.4% in November 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. This is the 18th consecutive month of increased employment in Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality industry. In November 2011, a RECORD 110,600 people were employed in Greater MIAMI’s Leisure and Hospitality sector compared to 108,000 for November 2010.

GREATER MIAMI LEISURE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY JOB$
November 2011 November 2010 % Change
110,600 jobs 108,000 jobs + 2.4%

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Board Chair Hantman lays down the law when it comes to Perez’s out of line comments on dais

School Board Chair Perla Tabares Hantman had enough Wednesday and quietly and with a controlled tone blasted school Board Member Marta Pérez, Ph.D. for a couple of her comments and references to another school board member, Carlos Curbelo. The discussion was sparked by an item on the agenda banning people who work as lobbyist on school board community boards and Perez thought the item did not go far enough. She thought it should apply to school board members as well and the comment was directed at her colleague Curbelo who is a lobbyist for Genting Group-Malaysia, and their effort to bring a destination resort and casino to downtown Miami on the Miami Herald and Omni sites. Perez also took a shot at what school board staff are being paid and if the Chair’s staff got any extra pay given the different duties, and also carped the leadership positions on the nine-member board should be rotated on a regular basis, rather than by the board voting on its leadership.

Perez has been only a board vice chair but never chair of the body and she periodically brings up the subject. She has verbally sparred with Hantman for years since their election. Hantman was first elected in 1996 and Perez joined the board in 1998 but the two of them have verbally butted heads over a wide variety of issues over the years. However, Perez overall does not play well with other board members and for Hantman board congeniality is a big deal and some of Perez’s claims about everyone “being corrupt,” in years past shows the broad brush she sometimes applies to her peers on the dais. Hantman also tries to run a tight school board meeting and keeps the board’s rules of order at her place on the dais and over the years. Some school board meetings went to around 3:00 a.m., and were almost painful to watch and listen too. It remains to be seen if Perez changes her behavior and harsh verbal comments but Hantman has had it, saying she will cut off any board member or public person speaking if they don’t respect the board’s rules of discussion.

Perez

Hantman

Curbelo

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> UM AOA discussions with PHT continue, but question of “partners and competitors,” dog talks, says FRB chair Lapciuc

While senior PHT staff said most of the legal “mumbo-jumbo” was concluded with the University of Miami Miller Medical School and its Annual Operateing Agreement (AOA) with Jackson Health System, paying about $115.2 million in medical services in FY 2012, but the devil is in the details of certain definitions and how these play out in the future. The two institutions, one public and the other a private not-for-profit have been affiliated for almost 60-years and reported on by the Watchdog Report weekly since May of 2000. And there is no one else in the community who has had such a continuous presence at so many levels of the now $1.8 billion public hospital fighting for its fiscal life, while also training well over a thousand of Miami’s interns and residents.

During the past 12-years, I have watched Jackson and the highly respected medical school grow and provide world-class healthcare for all. But past fiscal warning signs were ignored such as in 2004 when the health trust posted an $84 million loss, while providing now around $550 million in charity and uncompensated care the past year. In 2008 before PHT CEO Marvin O’Quinn left, he presented a graph in June to the Miami-Dade County Commission and it had three colors, green, yellow and finally red in 2010-2011 where the organization could not make its payroll. And I ran the graph dozens of times since then. But here we are today with Jackson having less than 20-days of cash on hand, a new more nimble Financial Recovery Board (FRB) trying to cope with these challenges, but the new wrinkle in the equation is the university buying its own hospital across the street from the main Jackson campus in 2007.

FRB Chair Marcos Lapciuc summed up his concerns when it came to the UM Annual Operateing Agreement being hammered out behind the scenes. He told FRB members Thursday. “We don’t know how to be partners and competitors, and who is in charge?” He noted the university department heads controlled what happened in “surgery and anesthesiology,” and he believed the relationship produces “many questions” and is causing “troubling conflicts of interest,” he suggested. The executive and attorney wondered, what if the new agreement was not working “given human nature, where we have to be kindergarten cops,” in monitoring the activities and where patients are sent. He said working through these issues was “like trying to solve some kind of puzzle” with the “paradigm” changed since the Trust “can contract” with the university’s physicians, but they also for example “have a store across the street,” he said. This sums up the challenge Jackson and UM is facing in these discussions, though Miller Medical School Dean Pascal Goldschmidt, M.D. has said physicians that move patients to their hospital that should have stayed at Jackson Health System “will face consequences” and “sanctions.”

Further, Martha Baker, RN, the president of SEIU 1991 representing nurses challenged how the deal was being negotiated at a county commission committee meeting last week and she demanded the commissioners insure there is “transparency and accountability” with any hashed out agreement. That request got Commissioner Barbara Jordan’s attention and told PHT attorneys she wanted to review the final AOA document ensuring this, prior to the county commission ultimately voting on it in the months ahead.

>>> Jackson physicians and nurses deliver 90 sets of twins, in-vitro fertilization one of the reasons

When it comes to delivering high-risk babies, Jackson Health System/ University of Miami Miller Medical School physicians and nurses have got it down and the number of legal claims has plunged by 90 percent since 2002 when that claim number was 70. The cost of these cases is not small and back then legal claims cost $40 million to now where it is around $1.5 million for just a couple of claims. Further, because of a total review of patient’s medical history and better communication between all the medical personnel. The numbers of babies born with serious health issues has dropped from 112 back then to around three premature babies now. Part of the reason is 50 percent of the babies are delivered through a C-Section and that is because the mothers may have infections and is for the baby’s safety since the health trust gets the higher risk deliveries. The higher C-Section delivery rate used to be around 33 percent, but with this holistic, high quality medical care, the number of premature babies has dropped. Further, with the widespread use of in-vitro fertilization techniques. Jackson delivered 90 sets of twins, numerous triplets and a couple of quadruplets in the course of the year.

>>> Press release: TWO JACKSON HOSPITALS CELEBRATED AS THE HIGHEST RANKING CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE FOR MATERNITY CARE AWARDS

Jackson Memorial Hospital and Jackson South Community Hospital will be honored for earning three stars, the highest in South Florida, by the Healthy Start Coalition of Miami-Dade (HSCMD) as “Champions of Change.” Jackson North Medical Center will also be honored for earning two stars as a “Champion of Change.” All three facilities will be honored by HSCMD during its annual meeting and awards ceremony today.

The three Jackson Health System facilities stand out among eleven local hospitals and birthing centers that will be recognized for launching efforts to provide optimal newborn feeding and care utilizing evidenced based maternity care. In addition, obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center will earn recognition as one of the facilities that demonstrated the most improvement in prenatal screening. The Excellence in Maternal, Infant and Child Health for Postnatal Screening honor will be awarded to Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson North Medical Center and Jackson South Community Hospital. North Dade Health Center will receive the Excellence in Maternal, Infant and Child Health for Prenatal Screening award.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Homeless population hot topic, reduced countywide from 7,000 in 1992 to 789, but more must be done says Trust chair Book

The issue of homeless people living on downtown Miami streets almost 20-years ago and inspired Miami-Dade to create the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust and through food and beverages taxes funding to the tune of about $17 million a year now, when only $7 million was dreamed about years ago. The messenger of this message was attorney Ron Book and he has been the chair of the trust ever since. Book said when the organization first started there were over 7,000 people in the street and portrayed Miami as a homeless haven with many of them living under overpasses. He then detailed how the trust has evolved since then and its continuing efforts to end homeless people on the streets of Miami and the county.

The issue has been a hot button for years on the Miami commission and had then Commissioner Tomas Regalado sitting on the trust board after one of his commission colleagues, Commissioner Angel Gonzalez suggested these people should be arrested and the now mayor was trying to defuse the situation. Since then feeding sites have been reduced to about six locations where there is sanitary conditions versus feeding people on the streets in a haphazard way.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has also been vocal in his criticism of the homeless population since his district snakes through the downtown and he is getting pressure from new condominium owners in the area. However, significant progress has been made over the years when compared with the number of homeless people seen in other major cities now, and in the case of Miami. Book and the Trust is redoubling its efforts to get the hardcore homeless into programs its providers run, but as Book noted. One man known as Santa Clause, who always wore the suit summer and winter on Miami Beach. It took the trust years to improve his plight, but he is now finally off the streets and getting his life together and that is the organization’s goal everyday, he said.

Regalado

Sarnoff

>>> Note to Miami staff writing RFPs, cafeteria gaffe at MPD inexcusable

A city contract for food services for the Miami Police Department building was a comedy of errors when the city’s Request for Proposals (RFP) said the general public could be served in the cafeteria of the secured police building. Commission Chair Wilfredo Gort commented that he could not even go into this area and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff was concerned about the current food providers health inspection, that found “rat droppings” and in his case. He does not go to food establishments with these findings and joked to commissioners and the administration to call Lloyds for him since anyone getting sick would file a lawsuit, he thought. Further, the city commission voted to continue using the existing company even with the sanitary and health issues are now public.

>>> Ethics Commission press release: Ethics complaint against Miami commissioner dismissed

The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust today issued a finding of No Probable Cause and dismissed a complaint (C 11-33) filed against Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff by an opponent in his recent campaign for reelection. Michelle Niemeyer alleged that the District Two Commissioner exploited his official position as Chair of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) because it used public funds for a “Downtown Votes” registration and absentee ballot drive. The investigation found that a voter registration and participation project was consistent with the mission of a public agency such as the DDA. The Board also found that Sarnoff had no input into the initiation of the project, though as a member of the board of directors, he was aware of it. It also concluded that Commissioner Sarnoff did not have exclusive access to any voter information and did not specifically benefit from the voter registration/absentee ballot drive.

>>> Press release: ASSISTANT CITY OF MIAMI FIRE CHIEF SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR HER ROLE IN MORTGAGE-FRAUD SCHEME

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announce the sentencing of defendant Veldora Arthur. At today’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz sentenced Arthur to 57 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. A jury convicted Arthur after trial on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and substantive mail-fraud. Arthur’s co-defendants, Neil Fagan and Pamela Johnson, who were also convicted at trial, were previously sentenced for their role in the scheme to 90 months and 57 months in prison, respectively.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Arthur was part of a mortgage fraud scheme that targeted mainly the Hidden Bay Condominium Complex (“Hidden Bay”) in Aventura, Florida. The defendant acted as straw purchaser and submitted loan applications and supporting documents containing false information to qualify to purchase two units in Hidden Bay in February and March 2006. Among the false documents submitted by Arthur were letters faxed during working hours from the City of Miami Fire Department, where the defendant worked. For her participation in the scheme, defendant Arthur received approximately $317,000 in one month. The defendants conduct in the scheme resulted in approximately $2.5 million in losses to various lenders. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Armando Rosquete and Sean McLaughlin. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Commissioners Wolfson and Weithorn fire a shot over Mgr. Gonzalez’s bow, will he be out in March?

A long time observer of Miami Beach politics and the commission predicted long serving Manager Jorge Gonzalez, 45, would be gone in the months ahead and any chance of building a world-class convention center “was over,” he said at the end of the week. Gonzalez’s future came up suddenly at a public non-televised meeting www.miamiherald.com Wednesday and the former Miami-Dade County employee has been at the city’s helm for over a decade. He once told some Russian College students visiting city hall, when he first got involved in public service he learned what that meant after Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. When he was sent to help with the recovery and rebuilding of the devastated South Dade and Homestead area. He told the students when an event like that occurs, the first thing government has to do is stabilize the people with, food, water and shelter and to slowly build up that infrastructure which ultimately took years after the natural disaster.

In his capacity as the Beach manager over the years since he has been seen as a able technocrat with a good relationship with the public and officials but time does take its toll and problems in the city’s building and zoning department, police actions including joy rides on the beach hurting tourists, and other incidents seem to have taken there toll with a couple of the commissioners. Commissioner Jonah Wolfson led the charge and proposed voting on whether Gonzalez should be retained and Commissioner Deede Weithorn seconded the item that was ultimately deferred until March when the manager’s performance will again be addressed. Gonzalez loves the city and even lives there, has the support of Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Commissioner Jerry Libbin but it is clear he has taken a hit, that has critics calling him “arrogant,” and it remains to be seen how this plays out in the future.

>>> Commissioner Gongora newsletter on the subject - Probably the most heated item was the annual performance appraisals of both the City Manager and City Attorney. For the first time in 11 years (that I recall), the Commission opted not to extend the contracts for either of our top administrators. A motion came forward to terminate the City Manager. This motion was eventually tabled and the discussion and evaluation were deferred until March 2012. Although Miami Beach is fortunate to be in solid financial standing compared to many other communities, several Commissioners, myself included, feel the City can do better still. Miami Beach must take action to correct problems across departments and hire the best talent available to lead these departments. Paramount to this discussion are the Building and Police Departments. These discussions are most consequential as I am responsible to you for ensuring that Miami Beach has the best possible administration leading us into a bright, sustainable future. I must also be convinced that our Administration is working diligently to resolve your issues when you reach out for assistance. I will continue to monitor this carefully, as always, keeping your best interests at heart. As we approach the holidays, may you and yours enjoy a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. I also wish you a Happy and Healthy 2012!

Bower

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Charter school mitigated expansion passes, Biltmore Hotel agreement teed up for Monday at 10:00 a.m.

With a controversial charter school student expansion on the commission’s agenda Tuesday that had almost 90 people attending or in the hallway of the Coral Gables commission chambers. An expected review of the Historic Biltmore Hotel’s new contract was deferred until a special commission meeting this Monday at 10:00 a.m. The commission passed on first reading allowing Somerset Academy Gables an expansion of only 260 students max, not the 436 originally requested. Mayor Jim Cason in a email on the subject said it was passed after the “Somerset Neighborhood Association and the charter school reached an amicable accord at 260 students max with other restrictions at 7:30 pm on first reading. Because of the late hour we continued the Biltmore issue until this Monday at 10 am as a sole item,” wrote Cason.

The school discussion had the commission be inundated with over 1,000 emails that Commissioner Ralph Cabrera said were “mostly supportive,” and “not form letters” but passions ran high in the room and the public discussion went on until 5:00 p.m., with a vote by the commission a few hours later. The school is located in the Coral Gables Country Club section of the city and one participant wrote to the Watchdog Report when I asked him about the issue since he attended the meeting. “The number of students is still too high, should have been no more than 200, but I guess if the rest of the neighbors are OK with it, so be it. The new concern we should all have is the Land Use change. These people will soon buy the property and then it is open season for whatever they want, if we are not careful. Take care and keep it up,” wrote the long time Gables resident.

CITY OF HIALEAH GARDENS

>>> Local police officer found guilty by feds for trying to steal computers and obstruction of justice, could get 25-years in the Big House

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announced today that defendant Jorge Raul Romero, of Hialeah Gardens, was found guilty by a jury of the four offenses in the Indictment. At sentencing, the defendant faces a statutory maximum of twenty-five years in prison. Romero was found guilty of one count of conspiring to receive and possess goods valued in excess of $5,000, which have crossed a State boundary after having been stolen, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2315, and conspiring to commit cargo theft of goods valued in excess of $1,000 or more, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 659, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Count 1). He was also found guilty of receiving and possessing stolen goods, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2315 (Count 2), committing cargo theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 659 (Count 3), and obstructing justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3) (Count 4).

The evidence at trial revealed that Romero conspired with a group of individuals who had stolen a load of Toshiba Laptop computers worth approximately $2 million. Specifically, from July 7, 2010, through July 12, 2010, the defendants conspired to enrich themselves by stealing a shipment of goods, specifically 5,250 Toshiba laptop computers valued at $1,997,181.83, and then reselling these goods for profit. During this time period, the defendants unloaded the stolen laptop computers into warehouses that belonged to Leading Edge Custom and Illusion Auto Design in Hialeah Gardens, Florida. After these laptops were unloaded, the defendants, among other things, stored, concealed, transferred, and sold the stolen laptop computers. In addition to other assistance to avoid detection and protection of the stolen goods, when other officers of the Hialeah Gardens Police Department were about to raid the warehouse containing the stolen laptops, Romero made a phone call to his co-conspirators to warn them. As a result, evidence was destroyed. >>> Mr. Ferrer commends the investigative efforts of the FBI’s Cargo Theft Task Force in Miami. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI thank the Hialeah Gardens Police Department for their full cooperation throughout this investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> IG Scott releases first investigative report, many more over the years are expected, especially since 31 municipalities are in the mix

Broward County Inspector General John W. Scott released his office’s first report on an investigation on a company awarded a small business development contract but was more of a pass through business and this will be the first of many in the future. The Watchdog Report caught-up with Scott recently and he said there a number of ongoing investigations and since the office just got started over the summer. Their investigations have been from scratch and in the Broward ordinance creating the office. People being investigated have 30 days to respond to inquiries versus the 10-days response time for Miami-Dade’s Inspector General Christopher Mazzella. Scott a former federal public corruption attorney worked for Mazzella in the IG office prior to his appointment, after a national search was done and he was selected for the new post.

>>> Press release: Gross Mismanagement of the Small Business Enterprise Certification Process by the Broward Office of Economic and Small Business Development

Broward Inspector General John W. Scott announced today that the Broward Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report finding gross mismanagement of the Small Business Enterprise (SBE) certification process by the Broward Office of Economic and Small Business Development (OESBD).

The OIG investigation determined that from at least 2007, the OESBD has routinely failed to properly certify vendors under the Small Business Enterprise program (SBE Program). The Broward County Business Opportunity Act of 2004 (Act) permits businesses certified as an SBE to acquire competitive advantages, including exclusive access to certain Broward County contracts, as well as preferences in County procurement. In return, those businesses seeking SBE certification status are required to demonstrate that they perform a commercially useful function, a classification that excludes brokers. In one instance, the OESBD has been aware for years that a vendor, Everytrade International Company, has been acting solely as a broker—and is thus not eligible to obtain SBE status—yet it has allowed Everytrade to receive $748,118.52 in County contracts, including a contract awarded after the OIG provided its preliminary investigation findings to the OESBD.

The investigation also determined that the OESBD’s failure to enforce the requirements of the Act was not unique or isolated to Everytrade, but was grounded in long-standing and systemic problems resulting from years of mismanagement. One OESBD official estimated that over half of SBEs are actually brokers.

The OIG found that by allowing brokers to avail themselves of advantages carefully tailored to benefit deserving small businesses, the OESBD has undermined the very policies the Broward County Commission sought to effectuate when it created the SBE program, at the expense, and risk, of County funds. At the conclusion of the report, the OIG makes a series of recommendations designed to better implement, reinforce, and rectify OESBD’s administration of the SBE certification process. The OIG has requested a status report from the OESBD regarding those recommendations on or before January 30, 2012. To read the full report go to:

http://www.broward.org/InspectorGeneral/Documents/FinalReportOIG11012.pdf

>>> Press release: BROWARD SHERIFF OFFICE DETENTION OFFICER SENTENCED FOR UNLAWFUL RECEIPT OF CREDIT CARDS

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Vance Luce, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami Field Office, announce the sentencing of defendant Cherralyn Milton-Browner, 39 of Coral Springs. U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn, Jr. sentenced Milton-Browner to 36 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $108,733.11.

According to the evidence presented at trial, Milton-Browner, a Deputy Detention Officer with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, developed a relationship with Onakia Griffin, a former inmate at the Paul Rein Detention facility. Milton-Browner and Griffin conspired to unlawfully receive fraudulently obtained credit cards at Milton-Browner’s former address in Sunrise, Florida. Griffin and others used the names and stolen personal identification information of mainly elderly victims to fraudulently apply for Chevron Visa credit cards. Milton-Browner joined the scheme by allowing Griffin to use her address on the fraudulently opened credit card accounts. The cards were then sent to the mailbox at Milton-Browner’s former townhouse. Milton-Browner retrieved the cards from the mailbox and provided them to Griffin. Griffin, who was unemployed, paid Milton-Browner’s bills, bought her meals and gave her cash, all from the use of the fraudulently obtained credit cards. The loss amount is $108,733.11. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service for their hard work in this matter. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keene. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> Press release: Woman popped by feds for prepareing and bogus tax returns

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), announce that a federal jury in West Palm Beach found defendant Marvel Ebanks, of West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, and unincorporated Palm Beach County, guilty of twenty-five (25) counts of assisting and advising in the preparation and presentation of fraudulent income tax returns to the IRS, in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. § 7206(2). Ebanks was also found guilty of five (5) counts of willfully subscribing to false Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Returns and filing the tax returns with the IRS, in violation of Title 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). Ebanks’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2, 2012. According to the charges and evidence presented at trial, Ebanks owned and operated Marvelous Enterprises Inc, a tax return preparation business in Palm Beach County, Florida. Ebanks operated her business from her various residences in Palm Beach County. Defendant Ebanks prepared and caused the submission of Individual Income Tax Returns claiming tax refunds on behalf of various taxpayers, knowing that these returns contained materially false information. Specifically, Ebanks claimed nonexistent expenses or inflated itemized deductions, thus making it appear that the taxpayers would be due a larger tax refund than was allowed from the IRS. The taxpayers were typically only sent the signature page of their returns and were unaware of the false information that Ebanks used to inflate their refunds.

Testimony and records at trial also showed that Ebanks under-reported her gross receipts from 2003 to 2007, and filed the tax returns with the IRS knowing that the returns contained materially false information. Specifically, defendant Ebanks failed to report income she received from the operation of her income tax preparation business. At sentencing, Ebanks faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of three (3) years in prison on each count of preparing and presenting fraudulent income tax returns and each count of subscribing and filing false Individual Income Tax Returns. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the IRS-CID. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emalyn Webber and Adrianne Rabinowitz. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

ORANGE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps John M. Martinez as County Commissioner.

Martinez, 30, of Orlando, has been the vice president of Gardnyr Michael Capital Inc. since 2010. Previously, he was an associate attorney with Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor and Reed P.A. from 2006 to 2010. Martinez’s community leadership includes service on the Central Florida YMCA Metropolitan Board of Directors since 2007 and the Frederick Leadership Initiative Board of Directors since 2008. He has also served on the Osceola County Education Foundation Board of Directors and the Central Florida March of Dimes Board of Directors since 2011. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University and a law degree from the Florida State University College of Law.

“John’s leadership ability is evident through his professional service and his broad community involvement,” Governor Scott said. “I am confident he will bring the highest levels of integrity and ethics to the commission.” “I support Governor Scott’s choice of John Martinez who has agreed not to seek election during the 2012 cycle. This demonstrates the Governor’s commitment to responsible leadership while ensuring a fair and level playing field in this upcoming election,” Mayor Teresa Jacobs said. “I am humbled and honored to be selected by Governor Scott to serve Orange County and District 3. As a native to Orange County, this is a unique and special opportunity to give back to a community where I have lived and worked my whole life. I am eager to get to work as an advocate for the residents of this district,” John Martinez said. Martinez will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Mildred Fernandez and is appointed for a term beginning December 12, 2011, and ending November 19, 2012.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott names Judge Nick Nazaretian, of Tampa, to the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court.

Judge Nazaretian, 49, has served as a Hillsborough County Court Judge since 2001. Previously, he practiced with Griffen and Associates from 2000 to 2001. From 1990 to 2000, he served as a division chief for the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office, and from 1987 to 1990, he was a felony trial attorney with the Pinellas Public Defender’s Office. Judge Nazaretian received a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Nova Southeastern University. “Judge Nazaretian’s service for the past nine years on the County Court and during temporary duty on the Circuit Court has well prepared him for elevation to the position of Circuit Court Judge,” Governor Scott said. “His extensive courtroom experience throughout his 25-year legal career, as well as his careful attention to the rule of law, will serve the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit well.” Judge Nazaretian will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Wayne S. Timmerman.

ALACHULA COUNTY

>>> Gov. Scott selects Judge Robert K. Groeb, of Newberry, to the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court.

Groeb, 48, has served as an Alachua County Court Judge since 2010. Previously, he was a sole practitioner from 1999 to 2010 and from 1995 to 1998. He was also assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement from 1998 to 1999. Groeb was an assistant state attorney for the Eighth Judicial Circuit from 1991 to 1995, for the Sixth Judicial Circuit from 1990 to 1991, for the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit from 1988 to 1989, and for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit from 1985 to 1988. He also practiced with the Law Firm of Robert E. Merchant III from 1989 to 1990. Groeb received a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and law degree from Stetson University. “Robert’s experiences as a county judge and as an administrative hearing officer have prepared him to evaluate and consider evidence without bias and prejudice,” Governor Scott said. “In addition, his 24 years as a trial attorney have given him the opportunity to develop the highest regard for the rule of law.” >> Groeb will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Robert P. Cates.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> This is your chance for great stuff and support the Strut. The annual satirical street parade has been a model of civic engagement and civil uprising with enough material for a pickapeppa spray and sauce combination. In this interactive parade, the spectators, the true occupiers, are encouraged to bring tents, lawn chairs and cardboard signs. King Mango is still looking for a few good MangoHeads to strut in the parade. There are no entry fees, no special skills or x-factor auditions required; just join the fun and strut your funny. If your group needs ideas or people, come to our meeting tonight. We also need behind-the-scenes help.

If you want to participate, contact the King at kingmangostrut@gmail.com or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171.For more information check out our new website at www.kingmangostrut.org.Follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/kingmangostrut for the latest Mango news & tidbits. >> Putting the NUT back in CocoNUT Grove since 1982: What: King Mango Strut Parade – When: Saturday, December 31st 2pm – Where: Downtown Coconut Grove, Florida – Corner of Commodore and Main

EDITORIALS

>>> Redistricting process always painful for some politicians, Miami-Dade maps are what they are based on 65 percent Hispanic population

Redistricting for the 2012 elections of leaders in Miami-Dade County, the school board and later the city of Miami in 2013 has not gotten much press over the past few months, but the Watchdog Reports coverage has been a community eye into the process, that courts have ruled are as political as any process in politics. At the school board, Marta Perez last month carped about how her district was being changed, and at the county, it is primarily County Commissioner Jean Monestime that has a beef with the new map. But the process is what should be celebrated. For redistricting, is one of the great strengths of the Republic when it comes to every vote counting. We live in a community where around 19 languages are in use and when we talk about diversity. Miami-Dade is the poster child for the nation, yet we flourish in some ways, but also have a terrible habit of also taking one-step backwards, after making some positive progress.

The goal is one person, one vote for these different districts but that is the vexing problem we face when a community has a 65 percent representation on one ethnic group, be it Anglo, Hispanic, African-American or any other peoples. Here it is Hispanic and given these demographics there is very little wiggle room and any change in the maps shape has a domino effect thoughout the other proposed districts and that is the rub. On Monday when the county commission discusses and votes on the new maps after a public hearing the community will know the results, that are likely to make some commissioners unhappy, but unfortunately the population numbers determine otherwise, it is what it is, and that is the federal law.

>> Here is the agenda item on the subject. 112432 Ordinance Redistricting Committee >> ORDINANCE PROVIDING NEW BOUNDARIES FOR COUNTY COMMISSION ELECTION DISTRICTS; INCORPORATING LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; REPEALING ORDINANCES 01-192 AND 02-102; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY; INCLUSION IN THE CODE AND EFFECTIVE DATE (ORIGINAL MAP ON FILE WITH THE CLERK OF THE BOARD) Public Hearing PDF This was adopted on first reading by the BCC Dec. 6 and passed 11-1.

LETTERS

>>> Ethics Commission Director on Miami Herald story on Miami Commissioner Sarnoff, and DDA get out the vote campaign

The Miami Herald Dec. 15, 2011 story regarding the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission’s handling of the election complaint against Commissioner Marc Sarnoff was wrong. The headline that Mr. Sarnoff was given a “pass” was both misleading and false. We do not give anyone a “pass.”

Reporting that the Commission would “not pursue an investigation” into a complaint against Sarnoff was also wrong. Our news release said plainly that an investigation had been conducted. In fact, it was done by one of our most experienced investigators, and was fair and thorough. Our conclusion was based on the evidence and the law, as it must be.

Our findings are detailed in the investigative file, which is readily available at the Ethics Commission office at 19 West Flagler Street, Suite 820. As it is public record, any persons having an interest in the investigation may examine the file or contact me to discuss their concerns. It is disappointing that the Herald wrote this story without a proper inquiry into the facts. The public is entitled to know the truth about any investigation by a public agency into alleged misconduct by an elected official.

Joseph M. Centorino, Executive Director
Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust

>>> Yours and the Miami Herald’s article came at a perfect time to provide more evidence to residents that a proposed for-profit charter school is up for consideration by the Palmetto Bay Village Council tomorrow night at 7 pm at Village Hall. We’ve been fighting it for months, but your work on it has helped better inform our residents about it.

Marsha Matson

>>> I enjoyed meeting you and reading your Watchdog Report. The public needs more watchdogs such as you and your associates. Best wishes.

John Kindt

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
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>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTINUE AFTER 12-YEARS AND HEADING INTO 13-YEARS IN MAY: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> I was on Topical Currents, hosted by Joseph Cooper on WLRN/NPR 91.3 FM on Tuesday and to listen to the show where we covered some hot issues like the Miami Marlins stadium SEC investigation and the recent naming of the new Miami Art Museum after Related President Jorge Perez go to http://www.wlrn.org/radio/programs/topical-currents/archive/

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Time flies with Downtown Bay Forum celebrating its 20th anniversary, topnotch panel of speakers including Fair, Talbert, Lewis and Ruvin

The Downtown Bay Forum of Miami celebrated its 20th Anniversary Wednesday and around 100 people turned out to celebrate the luncheon event that included a first rate panel of T. Willard Fair, William Talbert, III, Michael Lewis and Miami-Dade Clerk Harvey Ruvin at Temple Israel. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle was scheduled to be on the panel but demurred earlier saying she did not want to create a conflict of interest since her office was investigating the Miami Downtown Development Authority for the organization’s out reach program and mailings regarding a Get Out the Vote drive by the organization. The DDA chaired by Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff had one of his challengers, Michelle Niemeyer in the Nov. election for commission District 2 file a complaint with the state attorney’s office. Sarnoff says the program had been going on for a while before the election, and given the dismal eight percent voter turnout of the districts voters including within the DDA area. He suggested the effort essentially failed and had no real impact on the election results.

Moderator Sean Foreman, Ph.D. asked the panel of Fair, Talbert, Lewis and Ruvin, how Miami has changed over the past 20 years and some of the answers were frank and revealing. Fair, the president of the Urban League of Greater Miami and former chair of the Florida Board of Education said, “The coming of the Cubans has helped shape Miami over the last 20-years,” and the mood of the community is “better today than yesterday,” but noted, “no one wants to talk about race anymore,” said Fair. Talbert noted 30-years ago, Time Magazine had a front-page story called Paradise Lost and the tourist maven reflected on how things had changed since then. He said Miami is now perceived as “the city of sun and beaches, we are about art, and we have come a long way baby,” the executive director of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau thought. Lewis, publisher of Miami Today www.miamitoday.com was “glad that we are talking about a community vision, and trying to get a shared vision, instead of some hair brained scheme.” And said he was concerned when it came to the future because “we don’t know where we want to go.” He ticked off ten things that made Miami what it was ranging from Henry Flagler’s train, the auto, World War II, Fidel Castro, racial integration, Mariel, and believes if gambling comes to South Florida, that will be the 11th major change agent.

Ruvin felt “there is plenty of hope ahead” and society is moving “into a new domain where one is technology and the other is the global environment and how it will affect us.” The Miami-Dade Clerk said technology is creating a “paperless platform that will allow us to make better and wiser decisions.” He said a “lot of waste and fraud in government is in the system” and believes there is “tremendous savings when we remove paper and that technological act increases efficiencies.” The environmentalist also noted South Flroida is “ground zero for Global Warming” from Palm Beach and south and a Climate Task Force he chaired “developed 51 recommendations if we are to survive and prosper,” he said.

Fair, the founder of the now closed Liberty City Charter School and close friend to former Gov. Jeb Bush said when it came to a shared community vision. It was not there and challenged “the assumption that we all share the same vision.” He said “we are not a community but a constellation [of peoples] and until we have that discussion” we will get nowhere. “My community is Liberty City, not Pinecrest and the circumstances are not common.” “I deal with violence, the schools are failing,” and it is the “worst I have seen in my life,” concerning the economy and what is going in the inner city. The community leader also questioned Blacks getting jobs in the tourist industry but Talbert came back saying, “Miami has had 17 straight months of adding jobs” and for Blacks and others “there is great upward mobility in the hospitality business.”

Lewis observed that in Miami there was a serious “need for a better education system and the greatest divide we face is the educated and uneducated” people in our community. And Fair observed that he “is dealing with young boys that have never seen a man go to work” and believes his community is now “totally void of leadership.” Lewis believes part of the reason South Florida has no collective vision is because we “have no big money in the community.” He said people like Alvah H. Chapman, Jr., the former Chair of Knight Ridder “had a moral compass,” and the corporations here now have to ask their “boss” in North Carolina and is one of the reasons we “don’t have a shared vision,” he speculated. >>> This is just a snippet of what was discussed by the panel but it was a ying/yang conversation that showed more dialogue and forums of this type must be ongoing here in Miami and the Forum after 20-years plays an important role in this community conversation.

>>> Check out PHT President Carlos Migoya discussing Jackson Health System’s financial challenges with Michael Putney on his show www.wplg.com This Week in South Florida today.

>>> Check out Helen Ferre’s show Issues on www.wpbt2.org this weekend where top journalists Michael Lewis, Patricia Mazzei, and Tim Elfrink covering the city of Miami discuss the new Miami Marlins Stadium being built in Little Havana: Watch this Weeks Issues: ISSUE ONE: 1 of 2 Marlins Garage Property Tax – 2 of 2 Marlins Garage Property Tax

>>> White House press release: MIAMI-DADE’S DR. JAYNE GREENBERG APPOINTED TO PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON FITNESS, SPORTS AND NUTRITION

Dr. Jayne D. Greenberg of Miami-Dade County Public Schools was sworn in by Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as a member the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) today. President Barack Obama announced his intent to appoint Dr. Greenberg to serve on the President’s Council on October 17, 2011.

Dr. Greenberg is the District Director of Physical Education and Health Literacy for Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Previously, she served as Special Advisor on Youth Fitness to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and as President of the Florida Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Dance, and Driver Education. Dr. Greenberg assisted HHS in developing the I Can Do It, You Can Do It Program, addressing physical activity for youth with disabilities. Dr. Greenberg has published a book, “Developing School Site Wellness Centers”, written numerous articles, and co-authored a professional text.

In 2009, Dr. Greenberg received the Point of Light Award by the Governor of Florida and was appointed to the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness. In 2005 she was named the National Physical Education Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Sport and Physical Education and received Highest Recognition Award by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Dr. Greenberg has a B.S. in Physical Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; an M.S. in Sports Psychology from Florida International University; and an Ed.D. in Instructional Leadership in Physical Education from Florida International University. >> About PCFSN – PCFSN is a committee of volunteer citizens who advise the President through the Secretary of HHS about opportunities to develop accessible, affordable and sustainable physical activity, sports and nutrition programs. PCFSN administers the President’s Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards program which encourages Americans to make regular physical activity and good nutrition part of their daily lives. PCFSN is co-chaired by NFL Quarterback Drew Brees and Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes. For more information, visit www.fitness.gov.

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly

To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> Will redistricting & $66.4 billion budget suck the oxygen out of other issues during Jan. legislative session?

The Watchdog Report originally thought Destination Resort Casinos in South Florida approval would be almost a sure thing a few months ago in the Florida Legislature, given the behind the scenes financial grease and the large number of lobbyists the Genting Group Malaysia has hired to represent them in the Florida capital. However, speed bumps are popping up, ranging from past testimony of Genting officials in a Senate committee, to the Florida Legislature’s upcoming session in January where the $66.4 billion state budget and new redistricting maps after the 2010 Census that required state legislative and Congressional Districts to reflect the population changes, has sucked all the oxygen out of the room for other legislation. And while Gov. Rick Scott has given a preview of the $66.4 billion state budget this week that gives a $1 billion bump to education, it also takes a whack at Medicaid funding that would hammer local hospitals like Jackson Health System and Miami Children’s Hospital. However, two local state lobbyists over the weekend cautioned for people not to panic when it came to the Medicaid reimbursement rate cuts and that the Florida Legislature gets to weigh in as well on the matter.

>>> What about state Rep. Eric Fresen and his back taxes & foreclosure issues?

The Miami Herald www.miamiherald.com and the story broken by www.eyeonmiami.com on state Rep. Eric Fresen, R-Miami problems with the IRS and his house in foreclosure had the Watchdog Report asking the legislator elected in 2008 about the issue Thursday at the Miami-Dade Commission chambers. Fresen in an exclusive interview with the Watchdog Report said his “accountant is clearing up” the multiple issues recently reported in the press regarding past IRS liens and his home in foreclosure, and he “has always filed and paid his taxes on time.” He owes the IRS $7,274 from 2004 taxes and another $21,925 tax liability from 2007. La Salle Bank also foreclosed on his Coral Gables home in 2009 to the tune of a $641,000 foreclosure judgment. He said his accountant is drafting a letter to the IRS clarifying that money in “escrow was counting as income” and it involves “the transfer of one property to another” and when it came to the bank liens on his home. “Washington Mutual, LaSalle, then Chase, they all closed down but have not finalized the transfer” and these issues are being squared away he said and he offered to send the Watchdog Report a detailed explanation of the issue when his accountant is done with it.

>>> In FY 2010 Florida taxpayers spent $2.4 billion to incarcerate over 102,000 people, according to the Florida TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice, which released the findings of a first time ever in-depth analysis matching Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) data with Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) data going back to 1995, to provide a deeper understanding of the system today.

This analysis shows some recent state successes in public safety—the state prison population has declined, and crime rates and recidivism have been declining as well— as recently reported by the FDOC. However, there is always more work to be done in order to ensure the public’s safety.
“It has been evident in statewide conversations that Florida’s leadership is engaging in reform efforts and looking to continue to improve our criminal justice systems,” said Bob Stork, Chairman of the Florida TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice. “We are fortunate to have this critical attention, and all of our efforts are designed to provide constructive, data-driven and evidenced-based recommendations for our state’s consideration.” A brief summary of the findings:
Florida’s inmate population has more than doubled since 1990 and nearly quadrupled since 1984. In FY2010-11, 70% of admissions to prison were for non-violent offenses. Over the past decade, more than 40,000 people were admitted to prison for technical violations of probation, costing the state over one billion dollars. In FY2010-11, Florida spent over $300 million to incarcerate people for drug offenses. The cost of mandatory minimum offenses was nearly $100 million.
Nearly half of prison admissions will serve terms of two years or fewer. From 2009-10, admissions of offenders under the age of 18 will cost the state more than $200 million. Nearly a third of released prisoners return to prison and almost two-thirds are re-arrested within three years.

It is the goal of the Florida TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice to arm Florida’s leaders with empirical information, and help drive the state towards continued success in criminal justice to protect the public, lower crime rates, reduce re-offending and victimization, and conserve potentially tens of millions of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. “Through data analysis, we are able to discover trends, uncover problems, chart meaningful successes, examine reasons for growth and declines of the volume and costs of incarceration, and make adjustments accordingly,” said Dominic M. Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch. “We should not rely on what we think we know to compel better public policy, we should use our data to inform decision-making and understand and communicate our unique Florida story.” The findings of the report can be found here.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Tensions regarding new commission districts on the rise, verbal fireworks at Sunshine meeting between 5 commissioners

When it comes to redistricting the 13 commissioners new Districts for the 2012 elections, the verbal gloves are coming off among commissioners when it came to discussing the 7th draft of the body’s redistricting maps on Friday afternoon. Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Audrey Edmonson, Jean Monestime, Esteban Bovo and Barbara Jordan met in the second floor commission conference room and what started out slowly when it came to the discussion, escalated at the end that had commissioners squaring off on their positions and ultimately the final districts configurations will be decided by the full commission at their next meeting. Guillermo Olmedillo, a cartographer and former county planning director was hired to draw the maps for the commission to consider and in the three past Sunshine meetings, these were calmer affairs, but never included all the commissioners in the room. Census data shows Commission Districts 1,2,3 and 4 are under populated and need to expand and it means going west where Hispanic residents are the majority diluting Afro-American, Haitian-American and Anglo residents and voters.

So changes to the districts were occurring at these earlier gatherings and this seventh map permutation set off fireworks with Jordan, Edmonson and Monestime, all in “under populated districts” that have to expand in size to pick up more voters. But also causes a population domino affect throughout the commission’s other districts. In Monestime’s case, he has to pick up roughly 8,500 people and “District 2 takes most of the hit” and a “big portion of District 2 is now going to District 3,” now represented by Edmonson. But with around a 65 percent Hispanic population after the 2010 Census among the 2.5 million Miami-Dade residents, getting districts that will vote for African-American candidates and keeping like communities together when it comes to their representation is no easy task.

The target is to have roughly 192,000 residents in each district and it must allow for “one person, one vote” to count and the map presented Friday was “substantially similar, regarding legal and traditional,” redistricting, said Olmedillo. Further, Randy Duval an assistant county attorney giving counsel on this activity said at Tuesday’s commission meeting when discussing the issue getting a first reading that the district maps could be changed, but not by “wholesale radical changes.” He said that is defined as “something very significant that has the lines looking a lot different,” and the proposed district “lines are not a radical change from the previous districts,” he told the county commission.

Commissioner Rebeca Sosa told the Watchdog Report Tuesday she could live with whatever the new map looked like when it came to her District 6 and Commissioner Xavier Suarez has said in the past that he thought a computer-redistricting program should draw the new districts and in his case. Suarez who represents District 7 will likely get all of the Village of Pinecrest that currently is shared with Commissioner Lynda Bell who represents District 8.

Jordan

Monestime

Edmonson

Diaz

Bovo

>>> Proposed FL legislature preemptive scrap metal bill, could weaken new tough law in Miami-Dade

A scrape metal bill being considered at the state that would preempt a strong ordinance passed by Miami-Dade County a while ago may or may not exempt the county said Commission Chair Joe Martinez. He told fellow commissioners to keep an eye on this issue that plagues South Florida at Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Martinez and Commission vice Chair Audrey Edmonson sponsored the bill that passed and cooper theft plays havoc on electric streetlights in many neighborhoods but especially Edmonson’s where the dark inner city streets spawn acts of violence. Even Commissioner Dennis Moss who works at the Optimist Club in Perrine has had an issue with the street light being stripped of cooper where the organization is located.

The copper wire stolen, which can be as thick as a baseball bat for some electrical applications and has considerable weight is then sold to scrape metal dealers in the county and Broward and the commission’s legislation is probable the toughest in Florida, given this epidemic of the activity. To rewire a street light costs over $1,000 per pole and a man in a small truck was actually arrested with a street light hanging past the flatbed of the vehicle, showing it is that brazen in Miami-Dade and a real problem.

>>> Suarez says when it comes to GOB projects in district, it’s “the good, the bad, and the scary.”

The “good, the bad and the scary,” was how Commissioner Xavier Suarez described the status of GOB money for projects in District 7 for Fairchild Tropical Gardens, the Coconut Grove Playhouse and the closed Miami Marine Stadium. Jennifer Glazer Moon, the county’s budget guru Tuesday night told commissioners during a discussion of the proceeds of the $2.9 billion GOB passed by voters in 2004 being allocated over the years. She said funding for Fairchild was in place, there was still $5 million for the Playhouse (but not the $15 million allocated in the GOB since the building is shuttered and closed and not ready for any new money), and $3 million was available in tourist taxes for the marine stadium, which is a longer-term project. Suarez joked before the discussion that when he approached Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county Attorney Robert Cuevas about these projects they both asked what he was going to do for them? Since they both live in the district and will have to vote for him again in August, when Suarez is up for reelection for a full four-year term.

How is Suarez doing?

Suarez who considers himself a transportation maven has a spotty Metropolitan Planning Organization attendance record and he skipped the one on Thursday and missed the one in September attendance documents state. His office is also said to be hesitant to resolve constituent issues on their own and when it comes to actually speaking with Suarez. He generally directs the public to talk to his staff about any issues and he did just that after speaking in front of the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce a while ago. He has yet to get a challenger, his son will be the new Miami Commission chair next year, but his district that he calls “Like Texas” given its property tax base wealth is not solid Hispanic and is a demographic blend of all ethnic groups with one thing in common. The voters in many cases are wealthy, well educated, fairly informed on many of the issues and can be demanding in their request for any county services though much of the area in District 7 is incorporated into cities, towns or villages.

Suarez

>>> Press release: Governor Rick Scott today announced the appointment of Judge Norma Lindsey and Angelica Zayas, both of Miami, to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court.

Lindsey, 46, has served on the Miami-Dade County Court since 2005. Previously, she was a sole practitioner and of counsel with Borgognoni, Gutierrez and Arza in 2005. She served as an associate general counsel for Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade from 2001 to 2005. During Lindsey’s 18-year legal career, she also practiced with Schoeppi and Burke P.A. from 1997 to 1999; Zemel and Kaufman P.A. from 1996 to 1997; Stuzin and Camner P.A. in 1995; and Hornsby, Sacher, Zelman and Stanton P.A from 1993 to 1995. Lindsey served on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Third District Court of Appeal from 2001 to 2005. She received a bachelor’s degree from Marshall University and a law degree from the University of Miami.

“Judge Lindsey’s well rounded background and proven experience as a county court judge demonstrate that her work ethic and judicial temperament qualify her for elevation to the circuit bench,” Governor Scott said. “Her commitment to the South Florida community is unquestionable, and she has demonstrated a sense of fairness and commitment to judicial restraint that will benefit the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.”

Zayas, 47, has served since 1996 as an assistant state attorney for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, where she handled complex and sensitive cases at both the trial and appellate levels. From 1989 to 1996, she served as an assistant attorney general in Miami office of the Attorney General’s Office. Zayas received her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Miami.

“Angelica has a proven record in difficult cases and has shown a strong commitment to her community, public service and the legal profession,” said Governor Scott. “I am confident she will bring a principled and judicially sound approach to the cases that come before her.” Lindsey will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Ivan F. Fernandez to the Third District Court of Appeal, and Zayas will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Amy Steele Donner.

>>> Gov. Scott taps Donald “DJ” Cannava Jr. to the Miami-Dade County Court.

Cannava, 51, has been the statewide deputy director of Children’s Legal Services within the Florida Department of Children and Families and the regional director for Florida’s southern and southeast regions since 2008. Previously, he was a senior vice president with Passport Marine from 2006 to 2008, senior vice president and general counsel with Inktel Direct from 2001 to 2006, and an assistant state attorney with the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 1996. He also was a junior agent with United Talent Agency from 1996 to 2000 and manager of business development for CBSSportsline.com from 2000 to 2001. Cannava received bachelor’s and law degrees from Boston College.
“DJ’s broad range of experience has prepared him to handle the diverse matters that come before the county court every day,” Governor Scott said. “His ability to assess situations fairly and in an efficient and straightforward manner will allow him to serve the Miami-Dade County Court well.” Cannava will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Rosa C. Figarola to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court.

>>> Press release: Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez and Commissioner Jean Monestime, will host the grand opening ceremony for Phase II of the Scott-Carver HOPE VI Redevelopment located in the Liberty City area.

The HOPE VI Grant was awarded by US-HUD to Miami-Dade County on September 16, 1999 to redevelop the former Scott and Carver public housing developments. Phase I of the redevelopment was completed in 2008 with 57 single-family homes built by Habitat for Humanity. The Grand Opening of the new “Northpark at Scott Carver,” developed by McCormack Baron Salazar (MBS) and partner, Reliance Housing Foundation, is a mixed-income development which will provide 354 rental units; 177 public housing units, 107 low and moderate income units and 70 market-rate units. This community features “green and sustainable” initiatives such as water-saving features and energy efficient appliances that have been incorporated into the design. The Phase II development represents over $65 million in new investment. WHO: Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jean Monestime WHAT: Scott-Carver HOPE VI Phase II Grand Opening Ceremony WHEN: Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 at 10 a.m. WHERE:75 Street and NW 23rd Court, Miami, FL 33147

>>> DMV to Go – The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will offer its services at the Stephen P. Clark Center on Thursday, December 15, from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Space is limited so sign up today!

>>> Press release: GMCVB: RECORD DEMAND FOR TRAVEL TO GREATER MIAMI AND THE BEACHES REMAINS STRONG IN OCTOBER 2011 RESULTING IN DOUBLE-DIGIT INCREASES IN TWO OF GREATER MIAMI’S TOURIST-RELATED TAX COLLECTIONS

The October Convention Development Tax (CDT) collections for Greater MIAMI and the Beaches of $4,057,218 compared to $3,122,138 for the same period last year represent a +29.9% increase. The MIAMI-Dade Resort Tax collections (excluding MIAMI Beach, Bal Harbour and Surfside) for October 2011 totaled $1,345,578 compared to $1,103,747 in 2010 for an increase of +21.9%. October 2011 2% Food and Beverage tax collections from hotels in MIAMI-Dade (excluding MIAMI Beach, Bal Harbour, and Surfside) generated $444,901 compared to $422,388 in 2010, an increase of +5.3%.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Miami Herald pops the bubble when it comes to wayward Charter Schools and $400 million in public money

Anyone that thinks The Miami Herald www.miamiherald.com is down for the count when it comes to breaking big investigative stories just needs to read the I-Team series on Charter Schools, a $400 million business in Florida. Over the past six-months, reporters Scott Hiaasen and Kathleen McGrory have combed through thousands of documents related to these schools operation and lack of adequate oversight that has a public school district only able to shut them down for severe issues like life safety or fiscal distress. Here in Miami-Dade there are over 90 charter schools that are funded by the public school district to the tune of $250 million or about $6,000 per student. The Watchdog Report since 2004 has watched one charter school in Coconut Grove, surrounded by restaurants and bars and referenced in the story, The Arts and Minds Charter School and I have written about it extensively since then via the school board audit and budget advisory board meetings. I have no beef in many ways with the school that academically is rated an A school. I was flagging the management arrangement and board oversight where the schools founder and building owner controlled the whole operation while getting almost $90,000 in monthly rent from the school district.

This type of arrangement is called a “related transaction” within school audit management circles and there are others of these such charters in Miami-Dade but A&M happens to be the one I see on a daily basis. Since writing about the school over the last seven years. I have amassed about eight inches of documents related to A&M and the school is getting the gift that keeps on giving. A public school district forensic audit and the community will see what that discovers, but the nation’s fourth largest public school district is the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room. For the school district is not some small public institution where a politically connected person might be able to pull some strings and make certain things perhaps go away. The district is deadly serious when it comes to precious taxpayer dollars and accounting for how this money is spent under state guidelines and how could it get worse for some of these schools operators? While many of the schools are a for profit-operation many are not-for –profit, pay no taxes or property taxes and that tees them-up to perhaps have issues with the IRS.

In the case of A&M, the buildings owner Manny Alonso-Poch, after explaining why the rent went from $29,000 back in 2004 to the new much higher number at a audit committee meeting years ago and reported in the Watchdog Report at the time. Frederick “Buck” Thornburg, the Audit Committee chair and attorney quipped, “There is a lot of fairy dust in the room,” that had other committee members incredulous at the explanation. Now with this new Herald series, readers can also hear what the reporters found on WWW.WLRN.ORG with Phil Latzman, The Miami Herald News anchor in the coming days and the paper has done a great service to Florida taxpayers. For while many of the state’s Charter Schools are great and do an effective job educating students. There is a need to tighten up some of the oversight guidelines and with two more big stories coming out in the paper in the days ahead. The Watchdog Report gives a Tip of the Hat to everyone that worked on the investigative series. To read the story go to
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/19/2541051/florida-charter-schools-big-money.html and to leave comments on WLRN, go to radio@wlrn.org

>>> Press release: Statement from the Florida State Board of Education on Governor Scott’s 2012-2013 Budget Recommendations

“The State Board of Education commends Governor Scott on his 2012-2013 budget recommendations for education and urges the legislature to adopt them. By recommending over $1 billion in new state education spending and the third largest education budget in Florida history, the Governor has clearly demonstrated that education is his top budget priority. As Florida moves to new standards, the increase in per pupil funding and the doubling of the allocation for reading coaches is particularly timely. These funds will ensure that local school districts have the resources they need to help students meet new standards.”

>>> Press release: EDUCATION COMMISSIONER GERARD ROBINSON – Regarding Proposed Budget from the Governor

“Florida’s teachers have done an incredible job providing a learning culture that fosters academic success and growth for each of their students. Today, I want to thank Governor Scott for proposing a budget that will provide significant additional resources that our classroom teachers need to make student dreams a reality. The Governor’s commitment to a high quality education is demonstrated by infusing one billion dollars in state funds to: fund 30,000+ new students,
replace one-time state funding, overcome diminishing local revenue, and increase per student funding. The Governor has also made a commitment to public higher education and student financial aid by maintaining funding in these areas. This ensures that our students are able to continue to achieve their higher education goals.

This budget will help students gain the tools to master increased standards and graduate from high school college- and career-ready. I also want to thank the State Board of Education for its continued support of increasing our legislative budget to sustain our public education system. The Department’s Strategic Plan aligns with the Governor’s mission and the proposed budget will help preserve what our schools have accomplished in the past and stand to achieve in the future.”

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> Gov. Scott’s budget hits JHS to the tune of $133.5 million, nurses union at impasse; hits just keep on coming

Carlos Migoya, the PHT CEO went to Tallahassee last week to lobby for the public Jackson Health System that has Gov. Rick Scott’s preliminary $66.4 billion state budget for next year potentially hitting Jackson to the tune of $133.5 million in state Medicaid funding. Other South Florida hospitals public funding would also be whacked back that has Miami Children’s Hospital potentially losing $34 million and cuts funded days for poor patients in hospitals possible being cut from 45 to 23 days www.miamiherald.com . Migoya is trying to stem the fiscal hemorrhaging at Jackson with his mission to have a balanced budget at the end of the year, but the fiscal hits keep on coming and that goal is a moving target he is finding.

Further, the PHT just announced official impasse with the nurses union SEIU Local 1991 after months of protracted negotiations trying to get concessions from the organization, though the union is crying foul and suggests the move is endangering patient care. He has already instituted a two-week furlough program and cut employees down by the hundreds but the health trust is also being hammered by reduced admissions and a lower number of paying patients that will only be exasperated by this reduced state funding. The public hospital has posted $420 million in losses over the past three years and this new proposed funding reduction is expected to be fought by South Florida lawmakers.

Scott in the past has said he thought Jackson should be making money and he ran a chain of 343 private hospitals that benefited from these Medicare and Medicaid patients. But his time as CEO of Columbia/HCA ended in controversy in the 1990s and after he left the helm with a golden parachute. The company paid a $1.7 billion federal fine for Medicare billing abuses, the largest such fine ever. However, the governor’s plan is getting blowback from state legislators and state Sen. Rudy Garcia, R- Hialeah is asking why the hits disproportionately affects urban hospitals that includes Shands Hospital in Gainesville, another public and teaching facility affiliated with the University of Florida. Garcia, a healthcare executive who has worked at the old Cedars Hospital and Mercy Hospitals in the past believes the cuts should be spread out around the state, and his comments were echoed by state Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine whose poorer residents use Shands for their healthcare.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Incoming Commission Chair Suarez wants to scrap Mason’s Rules, wants to change to more manageable County parliamentary procedures

Incoming Commission Chair Francis Suarez had a Sunshine Meeting Wednesday to discuss the Parliamentary Rues of Procedure on the body and how to streamline it rather than using Mason’s Manuel of Legislative Procedure, a around 800-page document. The commission uses Mason’s to run meetings but the legislative body strays from the guidelines that is more suited for legislative bodies like Congress and the Florida legislature since these elected officials can discuss things without it falling under the Florida Sunshine Law. In the case of municipalities elected leaders, that is not the case and Commission vice Chair Frank Carollo periodically attended the meeting. Suarez brought in a parliamentary expert to facilitate the discussion along with city Clerk Priscilla Thompson, an assistant Miami attorney and invited commissioners to attend but only Carollo showed up. Suarez said the current rules “were cumbersome and more suited for Congress” and the way the Miami commission operates. “It is more of a free flow discussion,” and the next chairman said Mason’s procedures “does not make sense,” given the reality of the discussions on the dais. He is going to suggest that the commission consider using the Miami-Dade County Commission’s rules of procedure “as a model because it is digestible and easy to understand,” he said.

Suarez an attorney hopes to bring it to the commission in a future meeting in the form of an ordinance after a preliminary discussion with fellow commissioners, “that may include a time frame on the amount of time the discussion goes on” by the commission. Carollo however cautioned, “That future [commission] chairs may want to put their own spin on it,” and it remains to be seen if Suarez’s idea becomes a Miami ordinance.

Who is the commission vice chair?

Further, Mayor Tomas Regalado told the Watchdog Report Thursday that the commission’s new vice chair would be Commissioner Marc Sarnoff. Sarnoff, an attorney recently won a second four year term in November after getting 53 percent of the eight percent voter turnout for the District 2 election that had four other candidates challenging his incumbency. He was an earlier commission chair back in December 2009 when he and Vice Chair Frank Carollo were the only commissioners on the dais after some commissioners’ removal left vacancies on the body. He was first elected in 2006 and won his first full term in 2007 and in 2009 served as the commission chair before being replaced this year by Commissioner Willy Gort. Suarez will chair his first commission meeting in January.

What about the Miami Marlins stadium?

Regalado said last week one of the little known facts was that Marlin officials David Samson and team owner Jeffrey Loria, along with then county Manager George Burgess, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and others during the final negotiating stages of the over $630 million new stadium contract. These people had rooms at the Grand Bay Hotel across from city hall that now has Miami holding the around $1.3 million property tax bag for the four city owned parking lots next to the stadium. Regalado said about the current U.S. SEC probe into the deal, that then Commission Chair Joe Sanchez received “some $30,000 in campaign contributions” from people associated with the team and Sanchez would bring baseball players to “senior centers” during the campaign when he was running for mayor against Regalado in 2009. The mayor also said the “team gave out free tickets,” to the elderly voters in these retirement centers. The mayor also noted the city was on the hook for $250,000 in maintenance costs every year when it came to the stadiums upkeep and this is money the city really doesn’t have but is obligated to pay, given the way the deal was structured, he said.

Regalado

Sarnoff

Suarez

>>> Miami Bayside Foundation looking to help minority businesses, loans range up to $50,000

The Miami Bayside Foundation under a new executive and board is back in business helping small minority firms in the city get loans from the not-for-profit. The Foundation was under everyone’s radar for years and was overhauled after a spotlight was put on the past organization administration and oversight members and Miami minority businesses located in the city can apply for $10,000 to $50,000 in loans states a brochure found in a Miami commissioner’s office. For more information go to www.miamifundation.org

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Mayor Bower “a fighter” in effort to protect the Beach at county MPO, when it comes to destination resorts and attendant infrastructure challenges

Anyone on the Beach that did not think Mayor Mattie Herrera Bower was not a verbal “expert at fighting” did not see her Thursday at the Miami-Dade County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting and she took on future Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans, and wanted to be part of any discussions to any Miami downtown freeway changes. Bower, not a voting member of the MPO yet, after Miami Beach Commissioner Edward Tobin was the original member on the body but he is going to the police academy said Bower and when it came to state transportation officials. We “want to be on the table, at the table, in the table but somewhere on the table early on,” when it comes to these highway discussions, now that Genting Resorts is trying to build a $3.5 billion, 10 million square foot hotel, shops and casino complex on The Miami Herald waterfront site and the Omni building in Miami, she told the MPO board. Bower has been holding community meetings on the subject with one most recently Wednesday night at the Botanical Society. Beach residents have been giving her an ear full, some pro and some con to destination casinos and the city’s commission will discuss it this week.

Bower, who decisively won her race for a third two-year term in November is getting her voice and while thanking MPO Chair, Miami-Dade Commission Chair Joe Martinez for allowing her to be at the dais with the other MPO members. She also stuck to her guns about Miami Beach being involved early on when it came to these transportation infrastructure issues and future planning since the only way to get to the Beach is by causeways.

Bower

>>> Beach activist and attorney Frank Del Vecchio calls for residents to rise up and oppose destination resort gambling

Email from Del Vecchio: Billionaire Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is trying to squelch Miami Beach opposition to destination casinos by dangling the possibility that he will build a convention/casino complex for us. ["Las Vegas mogul endorses Beach for casino site", Nov. 10 Herald article by Douglas Hanks.] http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/09/2494150/las-vegas-gambling-mogul-eyes.html#storylink=misearch This dangerous flirtation distracts us from the clear and present danger of a massive casino/convention center on the Herald/Omni site. The “Destination Casino” bill pending in the state legislature must be defeated to clear the way for an upgraded Convention Center on the Beach and avoid the nightmare of gridlock on MacArthur and Venetian Causeways. The casino bill can be defeated in the state legislature, but not if residents buy in to Wynn’s game.

Miami Beach knows better than to be taken in by the Las Vegas hard sell and the illusion of easy money. The sooner we scuttle the Destination Casino bill the sooner we can upgrade our convention center, capitalizing on our city s unique concentration of architecture, pedestrian ambience, art, music and dance, climate and beachfront. Casino industry hype is so intense; Miami Beach commissioners need confirmation that residents oppose casinos in Miami-Dade. >>> They will vote on this at their December 14 city commission meeting (item to be heard after 5PM). Opportunities for resident input: Chamber of Commerce “Gaming Forum”, 5:30PM-7:30PM Tuesday, Dec. 13, Convention Center Hall D — City Commission discussion item, after 5PM Wed., Dec. 14, city commission chambers Residents should e-mail the mayor and commissioners on this matter: mayorBower@miamibeachfl.gov, Deede@miamibeachfl.gov, Ed@miamibeachfl.gov, Jerry@miamibeachfl.gov, Jonah@miamibeachfl.gov, Michael@miamibeachfl.gov, Jorge@miamibeachfl.gov

>>> Press release: Free NWS Concert for Miami Beach Residents – Miami Beach residents are invited to “Sights & Sounds of the Season,” a free New World Symphony holiday concert on Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. The complimentary tickets are available at the New World Symphony box office, 500 17 Street, Miami Beach. Tickets are available to residents with valid proof of residency on a first-come basis. The concert is made possible by the City of Miami Beach as part of its agreement with the New World Symphony.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Mayor Cason says Biltmore Hotel agreement “hopefully resolved,” at Tuesday’s commission meeting after years of haggling

A resolution may be coming up at the Tuesday commission meeting concerning the Historic Biltmore Hotel lease and the over $5 million in back rent they owe the city. The Watchdog Report contacted Mayor Jim Cason and commissioners last week and Cason emailed back. “[The contract] will be discussed and hopefully resolved this coming Tuesday at the commission [meeting], he wrote. Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, Jr., wrote, “To the best of my knowledge, the City Attorney has been working on “the details” of the agreement and apparently met with Seaway’s lender yesterday. I have requested a briefing from him on the outcome of the meeting and have not yet received one.” The issue of the Biltmore lease and obligations has been a hot button with City Beautiful residents and taxpayers for the last couple of years, though Biltmore representatives say it is not all there fault as has been reported in past Watchdog Reports but it looks like there may be a final resolution to this vexing issue.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Feds charge seven people charged in $120 million national tax fraud scam

Press release: U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Tax Division Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John A. DiCicco, and Jose A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), Miami Office, announce today’s arraignment of defendants Penny Jones, a resident of Rigby, Idaho, and Christopher Marrero, a resident of Davie, Florida, on an indictment charging them for their participation in a $120 million tax fraud scheme. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas. Both defendants entered not guilty pleas this morning at their arraignments before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow.

The indictment, recently unsealed, charges seven individuals – Jones, Marrero, Michael D. Beiter, Jr., formerly a resident of Coral Springs, Fla., David Clum, Jr., a resident of Whites Creek, Tenn., Dale Peters, a resident of San Mateo, Cal., Laura Barel, a resident of Lauderhill, Fla., and John Michael Smith, Jr., a resident of Hidden Hills, Cal. – with participating in a scheme to file false tax returns. Barel had been previously charged by a criminal complaint in May 2011. Arraignments are pending for Beiter, Clum, Peters, and Smith. According to the indictment, the false return scheme was national in scope, causing the filing of tax returns for at least 180 clients from 30 different states, requesting more than $120,000,000 worth of fraudulent tax refunds. The indictment alleges that the defendants and clients of the scheme collectively filed more than 380 tax returns, mostly from tax year 2008 but also for other tax years, reporting the amount of their personal debt obligations as both income and as federal tax withholding.

The indictment alleges that the scheme was premised upon the fraudulent “redemption theory” argument that individuals are not responsible for their common, personal debt obligations such as home mortgages, unpaid credit card bills, and lines of credit, and may instead seek money from the IRS to repay these outstanding obligations. As part of the scheme, defendants prepared and caused to be prepared false IRS Forms 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount, and 1099-A, Abandoned Property, on behalf of the scheme’s clients. According to the indictment, defendants held seminars in Florida and Tennessee in which they recruited potential clients. The indictment and other publicly filed documents allege that clients paid $750 to have defendants prepare a tax return reporting this type of “OID” income, and that clients agreed to share 10% of their tax refund with defendants. Previously, in a separate case in Fayetteville, Ark., a client of the scheme, Philip Butcher, formerly of Rogers, Ark., was charged with filing false claims for tax refunds.

According to the indictment in that case, Butcher filed two tax returns reporting his loans as OID income and tax withholding, claiming tax refunds totaling $1,456,696. The IRS paid Butcher $672,781. Jones was previously enjoined by a federal court from preparing tax returns. >> An indictment is only an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, Jones, Beiter, Clum, and Peters each face 215 years in prison, Barel faces 25 years, Marrero faces 30 years, and Smith faces 75 years. All of the defendants are also subject to fines and mandatory restitution if convicted. These cases were investigated by Special Agents of the IRS – Criminal Investigation. Trial attorneys Jed Silversmith and Jonathan Marx of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha Mitrani are prosecuting the case. More information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/tax. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Mortgage broker & straw buyer plead guilty to multi-million mortgage scam scheme

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Vance Luce, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami Field Office, and Tom Grady, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced that defendant Jinnie Mathurin, 42, of Coral Springs, pled guilty yesterday to wire fraud in connection with her participation as a mortgage broker in a mortgage fraud scheme. Defendant Guhier Florvilus, 36, of Sunrise, previously pled guilty (on November 3, 2011) to wire fraud in connection with his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing for defendant Jinnie Mathurin has been scheduled for February 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks. Sentencing for defendant Guhier Florvilus is scheduled for January 12, 2012 before Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley. The defendants each pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 134. Each defendant faces up to thirty years’ incarceration on the wire fraud charges.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, defendant Jinnie Mathurin was a mortgage broker licensed by the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation and defendant Guhier Florvilus acted as a straw buyer of a home in Broward County. These defendants and others engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by fraudulently causing Broward County real estate to be bought and sold through straw buyers who obtained high value mortgages based upon fraudulent mortgage loan applications and closing statements. Furthermore, the defendants submitted documents to the mortgage lenders reflecting a significantly inflated price for the properties than the true value of the properties. Both defendants also received wire transfers from the closing agency responsible for the property closings. In this regard, defendant Guhier Florvilus received a wire transfer from a closing agency of $382,101 for his participation as a straw buyer. Based on the false documents submitted to financial institutions, mortgage lenders issued approximately $2,835,000 in loans to the defendants and others. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> TaxWatch press release: Re: Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock’s Presentation to the Board of County Commissioners

A statement from Florida TaxWatch Vice President for Research Robert Weissert —“The recent Florida TaxWatch analysis of Palm Beach County, Analysis of the Unreserved Funds, Debt, and County Property Utilization in Palm Beach County, aimed to draw attention to the need for comprehensive fiscal reform. Florida TaxWatch agrees with Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock that one important reform would be the creation of a comprehensive fund balance plan to guide the County in the future. We commend Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock for focusing on this issue and continuing to discuss these problems with Palm Beach County.
The independent research conducted by Florida TaxWatch has found that reform is needed, and our organization stands strongly with Clerk & Comptroller Sharon Bock in her longstanding and ongoing reform efforts. Florida TaxWatch looks forward to working with her, the Board of County Commissioners, civic groups like the Palm Beach Civic Association and Taxpayer Action Board, and the Palm Beach community on these needed reforms to improve fiscal stewardship and transparency in Palm Beach County for the benefit of all the taxpayers of Palm Beach County.” A pdf of this statement can be found here

>>> Gov. Scott announced the appointment of Elizabeth B. Marshall to the Board of Landscape Architecture.

Marshall, 52, of Palm Beach, is a self-employed landscape architect. She is appointed for a term beginning December 9, 2011, and ending October 31, 2013. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

ESCAMBIA COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps J. Scott Duncan, of Pensacola, to the First Judicial Circuit Court.

Duncan, 39, has practiced with Borowski and Duncan P.A. since 2002. Previously, he was an assistant state attorney with the First Judicial Circuit from 1997 to 2002, where he coordinated the Escambia County Drug Court Program from 2000 to 2002. He received his bachelor’s and law degrees from Florida State University.

“Throughout his legal career, Scott has had experience with complex cases that have required intensive research of legal principles and thoughtful application of the law,” Governor Scott said. “His ability to quickly analyze issues and make informed decisions based on the rule of law will enable him to be an effective Circuit Judge.” Duncan will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Nikolas P. Geeker.

VOLUSIA COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott today names Steven Henderson of Port Orange to the Volusia County Court.

Henderson, 38, has been an assistant state attorney with the State Attorney’s Office for the Seventh Circuit since 2003, where he currently manages misdemeanor and juvenile crimes prosecutors. Previously, he was an admissions counselor at Florida Metropolitan University from 1998 to 2000 and at Stevens-Henager Business College from 1997 to 1998. Henderson received a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from Florida State University. “Steven’s life experiences, service to others and work as a prosecutor have developed his skills and shaped his temperament to work hard and listen to others,” Governor Scott said. “As a manager, he has carefully worked to apply the law on a daily basis, and I am confident he will use the same diligence as a county court judge.” Henderson will fill the vacancy created by the appointment of Judge David B. Beck to the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

St. LUCIE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Mark H. Gotz to the St. Lucie Fire District.

Gotz, 62, of Port St. Lucie, is the owner of MH Realty Associates. He succeeds Frances A. Hutchinson and is appointed for a term beginning December 6, 2011, and ending January 16, 2013.

MADISON COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott names Thomas R. “Tommy” Hardee of Madison, new Supervisor of Elections.

Hardee, 37, has been an insurance agent with Odiorne Insurance since 2009 and a volunteer firefighter with Madison Fire Rescue since 2000. Previously, he was an insurance agent with Aflac from 2006 to 2009, a supervisor with Packaging Corporation of America from 2000 to 2006 and a fireman with Madison Fire Rescue from 1994 to 2000. Hardee has been chairman of Friends of the Hospital since 2009 and served on the Madison County Zoning Board from 2006 to 2008. He attended North Florida Community College and the Florida Fire College. Hardee will serve during the suspension of Jada Williams.

GULF COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott picks Leah O. Dunn, James W. McKnight and Ralph C. Roberson to Board of Trustees, Gulf Coast State College.

Dunn, 56, of Panama City, has been the chief executive officer of Gulf Resources L.L.C. since 2008, Cobroc Med L.L.C. since 2005 and Dunn Properties L.L.C. since 2001. She has also been the chief financial officer of DSI L.L.C. since 2003. Dunn has served as board chair and advisory chair of the Science and Discovery Center of Northwest Florida and has been a member of the Florida Medical Association Alliance and the Bay Education Foundation. Dunn received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma. She succeeds Charles Isler and is appointed for a term beginning December 8, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015.

McKnight, 59, of Wewahitchka, has been the chief operating officer of North Florida Child Development since 2010. Previously, he was an administrator at Crenshaw Community Hospital from 2005 to 2008 and chief executive officer at Doctors’ Memorial Hospital from 1999 to 2004. McKnight has been a member of the Gulf County Planning and Development Review Board since 2010 and was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Luverne, Alabama, from 2005 to 2008. He received an associate degree from Hillsborough Community College, a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree from the University of St. Francis. He succeeds Linda Wood and is appointed for a term beginning December 8, 2011, and ending May 31, 2015.

Roberson, 59, of Port St. Joe, is a certified public accountant and has been the owner of Roberson and Associates P.A. since 1997. From 1993 to 2001, he served on the board of trustees of Gulf Coast Community College. Roberson has been a member of the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce since 1987, the Gulf County Chamber of Commerce since 1986 and the Florida Institute of CPAs since 1979. From 1985 to 2006, he was a member of the Rotary Club of Port St. Joe where he served as president and director, and he is also a past member of the Florida Association of Community Colleges. He received an associate degree from Tallahassee Community College and bachelor’s degree from the University of West Florida. He succeeds James Norton and is appointed for a term beginning December 8, 2011, and ending May 31, 2014. The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

LEON COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Joseph R. Boyd to the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board.

Boyd, 42, of Tallahassee, is an attorney at Boyd, DuRant and Sliger. He is appointed for a term beginning December 6, 2011, and ending October 31, 2012. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

EDITORIALS

>>> Leaders that bristle at people looking into their financials tip off the press, most good politicians say, “It is what it is.”

A Broward Municipal elected leader last week wondered why I was so interested in officials financial disclosures and whether they were in financial trouble last week when he stopped in at Miami City Hall for a swearing-in ceremony and he said many people these days have fiscal issues, and why the interest. The interest would not be there if these officials were just citizens but when it comes to their role in watching over public tax dollars, that fact is what gets the Watchdog Report’s attention and in some ways may make them vulnerable to be unduly influenced when money is waved in their face. Many elected leaders wave off this issue of accepting inappropriate money (Or bribes) but when one is down and out, has a family to raise, yet is still a lawmaker. It can be a tempting alternative that the past decades has shown in South Florida is not regulated to anyone ethnic group, but is an affliction that is common in one way, a willingness to sell your political and civic soul.

Public Corruption has been with us since the dawn of time in one way or another but in today’s world of limited public tax dollars and the desperate needs of the South Florida residents we don’t have money or time for this activity and while it is less prevalent in Miami-Dade and Broward than years ago, it is still going on and has helped lead to the lack of trust so prevalent with voters and the public in their community leaders over the years. And one of the only ways to keep these corrupt forces in check, besides the U.S. attorney and state attorneys offices is an inquisitive press and is why most weeks. I list people’s net worth next to their name if they are elected leaders. Further, while this week I did not plug in leaders numbers because on Saturday I had a cold and lost some writing time. I still did get five state leaders financial disclosures that I have reviewed and the interesting part about this practice is most people accept this is public information and is part of being a public figure. But others bristle at what they consider an intrusion into their lives and that is a sure fire give away that while they may be okay. They need to be watched because most politicians just go with the flow saying, “It is what it is,” and that is how it should be because legitimate elected officials know what the rules are when they ran. And if that is a problem for you now, don’t jump into the political arena, for when public tax dollars are involved it is everyone’s business who is looking after this money, especially when those same watchdogs are broke themselves.

LETTERS

>>> Reader on new Miami Marlins Stadium in Little Havana

I live in the neighborhood near the Miami Marlins stadium, and feel grateful to have a professional sports team here again. The business deal with the Marlins may, or may not have been the most favorable financially, short-term. But in the longer term, the people employed, taxes generated, ripple effects, and free publicity generated for South Florida by a beautiful world-class facility, that we almost lost, is all to the good. Let’s take a second look in twenty years.
Miami history is littered with skeletons of lost opportunities botched by our short-sighted politicians, fixated on the next election. First, they botched the Orange Bowl, which Maurice Ferre tried so hard to save, and then-commissioner Joe Carollo opposed. Because of that botched deal, Miami lost the Orange Bowl, professional sports venue with a national reputation, host to some of the games during the Atlanta Olympics; and lost the Miami Dolphins, and University of Miami college football, which played at the Orange Bowl.

Next, they botched the now-demolished Miami Arena, a white elephant; and our professional ice hockey team, the Florida Panthers, left Miami because of that. Then we nearly lost the Miami Heat before the American Airlines Arena was built, and Miami Arena was abandoned as professional sports venue. And there is Miami Marine Stadium, abandoned and allowed to decay. Where would Miami be, had we had wiser politicians who had not botched those opportunities; and all those teams were still here, with their consequent ripple effects? I expect that our image would have benefited, that more people would have work, more tourists would have come down, and that our tax base could have gone nowhere but up. Instead, we are close to being the poorest major city of the nation, in need of a better image, and badly in need of attracting a better tax base.

O.D.

>>> Reader corrects the Watchdog Report

It is a small world among United Way of Miami-Dade fundraisers. I was President of the Miami Herald Publishing Company from 1994 to 2001. I was never The Herald’s CFO, though I was its controller in the mid-80s.

Joe Natoli
University of Miami Chief Financial Officer

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
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Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125
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Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTNUE AFTER 12-YEARS: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

>>> I will be on Topical Currents, hosted by Joseph Cooper on WLRN/NPR 91.3 FM on Tuesday at 1:00 – 1:30 p.m. to discuss hot news items in South Florida and readers should listen in to the show. www.wlrn.org

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Federal prosecutors probe Marlins stadium deal, extensive records already in public domain, Braman & Lewis have extensive documentation

The federal oversight shoe has dropped with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) subpoenaing documents, meeting records, and campaign contributions to elected leaders and their administrations that had Miami-Dade County selling about $500 million in bonds, and the city of Miami on the hook for $200 million in bonds to finance the new Florida Marlins stadium and the surrounding garages http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/02/2529191/feds-open-sec-probe-into-miami.html . The deal premised on the false belief the professional baseball team was broke, and could only contribute a small amount of the money to the stadium in the scheme of things, but gets almost all the internal revenues associated with the game was criticized as a give away to the team and had billionaire auto magnate Norman Braman challenging the deal in a Miami-Dade circuit court a few years ago, but his attorneys arguments did not prevail at the time.

Since then, the stadium has gone up and is expected to be ready by the April 2012 deadline but critics have wondered when federal authorities might step in considering the deal was so lopsided in the Marlins favor. In this case, the contract with the team has the county and city assuming around 80 percent of the $634 million cost of the facility that includes a retractable roof, but when the 40 years of financing is factored in, additionally balloons to over $2 billion in new costs. Former County Manager George Burgess justified the financial plan in 2008 -2009 to county commissioners and the Miami commission as being like someone buying a house and financing it, but in this case the bulk of the payments are coming during the second half of the bonds life and people joke every child born from now on better have a baseball bat in their hands. If the stadium is to be filled with fans and not a drain on taxpayer general fund dollars.

The SEC federal prosecutor wrote the request for documents by Jan.6 does not mean the county or city ‘has broken the law’ but the federal authorities want to review how the deal was forged and was represented when the securities were sold to bondholders. The federal investigation also seems to be focusing on Marlins management (who say they will cooperate), and top professional baseball officials and there interaction with politicians and any ‘pay to play’ behind the scenes activity that might have influenced county and municipal commissioners and mayors that supported the project including recalled county Mayor Carlos Alvarez (Net worth $1.74 million) and former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz (Net worth $1.8 million).

The Watchdog Report attended some of the Braman lawsuit court challenge a few years ago, and Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen was on the hot seat when she made the decision that the deal between the parties, that also was part of a $2.9 billion Global Agreement that included the almost $1 billion Port of Miami tunnel when she ruled it could move forward and was later sustained in the upper courts. However, now Braman is beginning to feel vindicated he told The Herald in the front-page article Saturday and he had a classic quote of the day when he described leaders as “suckers” a while ago for approving the new stadium’s construction contract. After Braman was just told the Marlins actually made money to the tune of $33 million after, getting $92 million in league revenue sharing in 2008 and 2009 stated a sports website www.deadspin.com in August of 2010.

Further, Michael Lewis the publisher of Miami Today www.miamitoday.com also led the counter charge in the mainstream media fighting the stadium along with Braman’s court challenge, and the award winning newspaper man went through the contract with a fine toothcomb, and wrote countless editorials on the matter. And federal authorities have an information treasure trove and archive with Lewis, and Braman for both did considerable public records requests and research. If the two men decided to release the information to federal prosecutors for their review. Readers should stay tuned and we may get a glimpse how this contract came together, if it was on the up and up, or will become another Miami Moment that gives black eyes to Miami and Miami-Dade past and some current elected leaders who voted for the project, while stadium tourist taxes and potentially local taxpayers get the bill.

>>> White House press release: President Obama Nominates Three to Serve on the US District Court Bench ~ President Obama nominated Judge Timothy S. Hillman, Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum and Robert J. Shelby to serve on the United States District Court bench. “Throughout their careers, these nominees have displayed unwavering commitment to justice and integrity,” said President Obama. “Their records of service to the public and the legal profession are distinguished and impressive and I am confident that they will serve the American people well from the United States District Court bench. I am honored to nominate them today.”

Judge Timothy S. Hillman: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Judge Timothy S. Hillman has been a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Massachusetts since 2006. Previously, Judge Hillman served as a Justice on the Massachusetts Superior Court from 1998 to 2006 and a Justice on the Massachusetts District Court from 1991 to 1998. Prior to his service on the Massachusetts courts, Judge Hillman was in private practice for over a decade and served as City Solicitor to the cities of Fitchburg and Gardner and Town Counsel to the towns of Athol, Lunenburg, and Petersham, all in Massachusetts. He received his J.D. in 1973 from Suffolk University Law School and his B.A. in 1970 from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum: Nominee for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida, a position she has held since 2007. From 1998 until her appointment to the bench, Judge Rosenbaum was an Assistant United States Attorney in the same district, where she served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Section in the Fort Lauderdale office beginning in 2002. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Rosenbaum clerked for Judge Stanley Marcus on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1998, worked as a litigation associate at Holland & Knight from 1996 to 1997, and served as staff counsel at the Office of the Independent Counsel in Washington, D.C. from 1995 to 1996. She began her legal career as a trial attorney at the Federal Programs Branch of the United States Department of Justice from 1991 to 1995. Judge Rosenbaum received her J.D. magna cum laude in 1991 from the University of Miami School of Law and her B.A. in 1988 from Cornell University.

Robert J. Shelby: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Utah

Robert J. Shelby is currently a shareholder at the Salt Lake City law firm of Snow, Christensen & Martineau, where his practice focuses on complex commercial litigation and catastrophic personal injury cases on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in state, federal, and administrative courts throughout the country. Shelby was an associate at Snow, Christensen & Martineau from 2000 to 2005 and returned to the firm earlier this year as a shareholder. In the intervening years, Shelby was a partner at another Salt Lake City firm, Burbridge Mitchell & Gross. He began his legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable J. Thomas Greene in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Shelby received his J.D. in 1998 from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. in 1994 from Utah State University.

>>> Press release: U.S. State Dept. STATEMENT BY MARK TONER, DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON ~ Two-Year Mark of the Continued Incarceration of Alan Gross

Tomorrow Alan Gross will begin his third year of unjustified imprisonment in Cuba. He was arrested on December 3, 2009 and later given a 15 year prison sentence by Cuban authorities for simply facilitating connectivity between Havana’s Jewish community and the rest of the world. Mr. Gross is a 62-year-old husband, father, and dedicated professional with a long history of providing assistance and support to underserved communities in more than 50 countries. We continue to call on the Cuban government to release Alan Gross and return him to his family, where he belongs. >>>Video Statement in Spanish: YouTube, Broadcast Quality Download

>>> U.S. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen hosts Florida Pre-Paid for kids, registration deadline Jan.31

Ros-Lehtinen will host a press conference on Monday, December 5th to urge parents to sign up their children with the College Pre-Paid Tuition Program as Florida’s tuition costs continue to rise. The deadline to register in the program is January 31st, 2012. The press conference will be held at Riverside Elementary’s Media Center at 10:30 am. The school is located at: 1190 SW 2nd Street, Miami.

Ileana believes that interested parents should contact the program and determine what specific package would most benefit them as there are many programs available. The Florida Pre-Paid College Tuition Program allows families to lock-in current college costs for their children’s future college education in public and private colleges and universities in Florida and in many other states. The program saves parents and students thousands of dollars because college costs increase dramatically each year. Ros-Lehtinen introduced the college pre-paid tuition legislation that became law in the State of Florida when she was a member of the Florida State Senate. For enrollment information, please call the Program toll free at 1-800-552-4723 or visit www.myfloridaprepaid.com

>>> Press release: IBOPE Zogby Poll: Paul Would Be Stronger 3rd Party Candidate Than Nader or Bloomberg 16% Say They Would Likely Vote for Paul

An IBOPE Zogby interactive poll measured likely support for possible third party candidacies of Ron Paul, Ralph Nader and Michael Bloomberg, and finds 16% saying they would be likely to vote for Paul compared to 9% for Bloomberg and 7% for Nader. These results are from an IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted from Nov. 23-28. If Ron Paul ran for President as a third party candidate in 2012, how likely would you be to vote for him?
Response All Voters Republicans Democrats Independents
Very + Somewhat Likely 16% 15% 8% 28%
Somewhat Unlikely +
Not At All Likely 76% 76% 85% 63%
Not sure 8% 10% 7% 9%
Totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Please click the link below to view the full news release on our website:

http://www.ibopezogby.com/news/2011/12/01/ibope-zogby-poll-paul-would-be-stronger-3rd-party-candidate-nader-or-bloomberg/

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly
To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> New South Florida legislative coalition formed to fight for stalled Everglades clean-up funding in Tallahassee

A new coalition of state lawmakers have formed the Everglades Legislative Caucus to fight for continued funding to get Everglades Restoration back on track that has lagged over the past few years. The state during the early to mid 2000s funded at a much higher level the restoration program but that has been stalled, after the Florida economy tanked, shaving billions in revenues from state coffers. The group of legislators has state Rep. Steve Perman, D-Boca Raton and state Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne as the point of the spear in this effort and other South Florida legislators are expected to join the effort to jump-start the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) during the upcoming legislative session beginning in January.

Federal funding for the process was never near what was first anticipated, that has slowed as well, and the local congressional representatives have been fighting an uphill funding battle with their colleagues in the Capital. Further, Gov. Rick Scott (Net worth $103 million) was offered a carrot when Scott said the Everglades was important to the state yet got chided by former Florida governor and Senator Bob Graham in this regard recently in the www.miamiherald.com hoping he would keep that commitment that has critics questioning Scott’s commitment to the state. These people carping say while you may not have agreed with some of the past governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist (Net worth $461,000) policies over the years, it was clear they both loved Florida and many question if that is the case for Scott, who only came to Florida later in his life.

What do we know about Altman?

Altman, 56, was in Miami last week, and the Watchdog Report caught up to him and discussed some of the issues that South Florida faces and the issues at Jackson Memorial Health System and some of the unique cultural aspects we deal with here as well, like government’s addiction to money that had the Miami-Dade property tax base growing at 21.3 percent back in 2006 coming in with a $245 billion property tax base. And it was clear at the time and written about in the Watchdog Report that growth could not be sustained and more of this new public money should have been banked for a rainy day, by public institutions but was not. The former state representative from March 2003 to 2008 was elected to state Senate District 24 in 2008 and he is a contractor and consultant. He is married, has three children, graduated from Rollins College with a B.S. degree, and enjoys biking; hiking and hunting state’s his webpage bio.

Altman

http://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/s24 >>> Statement by Senator Thad Altman Regarding Decision to File Joint Lawsuit against Governor Scott March 1, 2011

What do we know about his finances?

Altman through June 2011 had a net worth of $1.2 million and he lists no value for household goods. His home is worth $630,000, another house is valued at $154,180, a 15 percent ownership in the Pines Resort LLC is worth $780,000, and his cash life insurance policy is worth $237,261. The senator’s liabilities are $145,000 owed to Sun Trust, a loan that appears from his parents is owed $428,000, a credit union wants $17,256 and a bank loan is owed $7,883. He lists income for the year of $13,000 coming from Tara Management Services, sale of a lot kicked in $300,000, Pines Resort paid $10,200 and his senator’s salary was $29,990.

What about state Rep. Bileca’s finances?

State Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami was profiled in the Watchdog Report last week but I did not have his financial disclosure forms for the year at the time. The entrepreneur who represents House District 117, a coastal district along the eastern shoreline of south Miami-Dade had a net worth of $3.7 million through June 2011 and he lists $45,000 in household goods. His liabilities include an $874,000 mortgage, JP Morgan wants $65,800 and he owes $5,490 on a Toyota Sienna. The freshman legislator’s income for the year was $741,000 from Towncare Dental Partnership, Inc., ATG kicked in $38,724, and Portifino Dental Inc. contributed $20,196. His assets include a home worth $850,000, there is $213,000 in a retirement fund, a HSBC bank account has $228,000, Fidelity Investments has $721,000, and three private company stocks owned are worth $1.4 million, $415,000 and $263,000 and these are just some of the assets on his supplemental financial disclosure form for the year.

Bileca

>>> Children’s Trust gets new health and development head in Harvard trained physician Gorski

The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade is having a “philosophical” debate after years now of learning what works with getting children from birth to five years ready for school and should even more resources be directed in those areas of the county that have the highest rate of poverty tracts based on the 2010 Census. Studies have shown high quality programs are more effective in the early years of a child’s life, but that progress can regress, especially in impoverished areas if this educational nurturing is not continued through the years of a child’s development. www.thechildrenstrust.org Editor’s note: I will do more on this story in the coming weeks, because the trust is amassing significant data on what is or is not working in the successful development of our community’s children.

What about any new senior staff?

A Harvard University trained physician, Peter A. Gorski, M.D., M.P.A., 62, has joined The Children’s Trust, he was introduced at the Childhood Health and Development Committee meeting Thursday, and he has impressive credentials and should be a strong addition to trust staff. His title is Chief Health and Child Development Officer, he previously was the Director of Research and Innovation for The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County states his resume, and he has an A.B. from Haverford College.

>>> Message from David Lawrence Jr., >>> I couldn’t be more pleased to be home! Quite a week on behalf of The Children’s Movement of Florida: It began with a speech early this week in Washington before more than 800 people at the “Partnership for a Healthier America” summit. Then, in turn: A discussion in Wesley Chapel with Speaker-designate Will Weatherford, who will have daughter Ella in VPK next year and who “gets it” on the subject of high-quality early learning. A meeting in Lakeland, hosted by Barney and Carol Jenkins Barnett, to discuss a forthcoming statewide early literacy initiative. A reading visit with a bunch of bright-eyed youngsters at The Movement’s sixth “Books and Cookies” event at the Hillsborough Community College Ybor City campus Child Care Center. Fellow readers were Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman and Early Learning Coalition CEO Dave McGerald.

A governor’s Children’s Cabinet meeting in which pre-K quality was a major discussion item. Editorial Board discussions with the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune. And a presentation yesterday morning before the annual joint gathering of the Florida School Boards Association and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Onward…Dave Lawrence Chair The Children’s Movement of Florida P.S.: We are in our final month of The Movement’s Dream Prizes opportunity, and your buying a ticket helps us continue to build a real movement for Florida’s children. It’s simple. Just click here.

>>> MIAMI-DADE COURTS’ CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT DIVISION
WILL MOVE TO NEW LOCATION EFFECTIVE TUESDAY, DEC. 13th – The Miami-Dade Courts’ Child Support Enforcement Division, currently located at 100 S. Biscayne Boulevard, is moving to a new location effective Tuesday, December 13th, 2011. The new address, from December 13th forward, will be: OVERTOWN TRANSIT VILLAGE – South Tower, 601 NW 1ST Court, 2nd Floor (Courts), 12th Floor (State Attorney) MIAMI, FL 33136 -305-530-2600 >>> The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Child Support Enforcement Office and the Courts’ Child Support Enforcement Division at 100 S. Biscayne Boulevard will be closed on Friday, Dec. 9th, and Monday, Dec. 12th, in preparation for the move. Any hearings set for those two dates will be re-scheduled. However, members of the public, litigants and attorneys may still call in, without interruption, at the same central numbers for the State Attorney and the Courts: 305-530-2600 (State Attorney) and 305-579-2584 (Courts – Child Support Division).

The Central Depository counter will be open for child support payments on Friday, Dec. 9th, at 370 SE 1st Street, Room 200, and will reopen at its new location in the Overtown Transit Village, South Tower, 601 NW 1st Court, 12th Floor, starting Monday, Dec. 12th. The Courts’ Child Support Enforcement Division and the State Attorney’s Child Support Enforcement Office will reopen at their new location in the Overtown Transit Village, South Tower, 601 NW 1st Court, 2nd Floor (Courts) and 12th Floor (State Attorney), on the following day, Tuesday, Dec. 13th. The Overtown Transit Village is easily accessible via Metrorail by exiting at the “Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre” Station, and by Metro Mover by exiting at the “Arenas/State Plaza” Station. For more information, please visit www.jud11.flcourts.org or call 305-530-2600.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Will transmittal vote to state of commercial project in UDB haunt Commissioner Suarez in his 2012 reelection race?

Veteran County Commissioners Dennis Moss (Net worth $342,000) and Sally Heyman (Net worth $425,000) fought verbally hard to keep the county commission from transmitting to the state a commercial development project to review on agricultural land inside the Urban Development Boundary last week. But it may be Commissioner Xavier Suarez’s (Net worth $328,500) yes vote that could have political blowback when he runs again in Aug. 2012. Since he represents commission District 7 and past commissioners have helped generally block such moves. Suarez, a former Miami mayor was given a second political chance when he finally won county office in May after two failed attempts in 2001 and 2004 and this could be one of his most controversial votes since it has been a hot button with his district’s voters in the past.

The development’s transmittal was pushed by lead land use attorney state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami (Net worth $486,093) and he argued the land was no longer viable as agriculture and the areas infrastructure was already in place. Commission Chair Joe Martinez (Net worth $238,000) argued, “Thousands of people would not have homes,” if the UDB had not been moved over the years and the “UDB never made sense,” to him. He noted even when they tried to analyze the boundary line when he was past commission chair in 2005-06, environmental critics “never came to the table,” he said. Martinez moved the item “to transmit but with no recommendation” except with a covenant that was added that would not allow homes to be built on the site. That fact of no housing had Commissioner Lynda Bell (Net worth $308,000) saying while she was “not very comfortable with this project.” I do “want to hear what the state of Florida says,” and her support was predicated on the “no housing restriction,” in the transmittal language before voting yes.

However, environmentalists and some commissioners cried foul and argued this application was the camel putting its head under the tent and Moss believed it would “open a floodgate” of new development requests inside the UDB. Commissioner Audrey Edmonson (Net worth $281,000) said there was a need for more infill, “I have not changed my mind” and “feel deep inside” that this is not something we should do. But the commissioners voting in favor sought to just get the state’s input on such a project and the commission was not approving the project but just voting to transmit it. And given the terrible economy Commissioner Bruno Barreiro (Net worth $728,000) said, “We will see where we are when it comes back,” in six months if approved and a final vote was planned. In his case, he has suggested in the past to have a permanent line that cannot be crossed, and he believes the county is having to do this “piece meal” rather than in a planned and rational way.

However, Suarez’s vote which could have been a no vote, while not changing the 7-5 vote outcome to transmit to state authorities given the sensitivity and politicization of this issue during the past decades. This controversial vote will definitely come up when he runs for reelection seeking a full term next year and will give any candidate challenging him a hot wedge issue. Since his district is on the affluent east coast of the county. And moving or any incursion into the UDB is considered a third rail with many of the district’s voters, and could put on hold any desire on his part to try to become the commission chair after the election next year.

Suarez

Martinez

Moss

>>> Homeless Trust looking for sponsors of parking meters, cost is $1,000, local artist’s Britto meters in stock

The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust is gearing up for Homeless Awareness Day Dec. 8 and the organization members are trying to sell more homeless trust parking meters done by local artist Romero Britto that people can donate too when they park. The first donation meters were brought anomalously after a $20,000 donation and these are spotted around Miami-Dade and a cluster of the colorful meters are seen at Joe’s Stone Crab on Miami Beach after the restaurant became a sponsor and the trust board is looking for people and organizations to pay the $1,000. to sponsor other meters. Ron Book the chairman of the Homeless Trust at a board meeting in the past said Macys and Bloomindales “have both been very helpful,” but the “challenge is to find other people to sell and buy a meter too.” He asked meeting attendees “to find me somebody,” because “I have meters in the warehouse,” and any of the donations “can be anonymous,” said Book. The attorney said the goal was to get more of these “meters installed on Homeless Day,” where the tally of residents who have died on the street the past year is announced, and in the past, given what one faces living this way, that has been no small number of people.

>>> Press release: FINALLY, A PROBLEM THAT IS SOLVABLE!
Thousands of Miamians Step Up to End Homelessness on December 8, Homeless Awareness Day ~From Biscayne Boulevard at 121st to Bayfront Park, A “Slow Roll” Brigade Along Biscayne Boulevard Brings Out Thousands of Volunteers

On Thursday, December 8, The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust is inviting Miami-Dade residents to join a Homeless Trust brigade aimed at ending homelessness in South Florida. The crux of Homeless Awareness Day 2011 is to remind people that despite traditional views that homelessness is an irresolvable issue in this community; it is a solvable problem. “We’re inviting people from all over our community to step out in an organized and peaceful manner to do nothing more than recognize that there are people who live on the streets that need our help, and that there are more effective ways to help them than giving your money to panhandlers,” said Homeless Trust chairman, Ronald L. Book.

How big is the problem?

Tonight, in Miami-Dade County, there will be more than 700 people living on the streets. One of the reasons why these individuals are on the streets is because there is not enough room in homeless shelters. According to a 2009 survey performed by Zogby International, 80% of the people in Miami-Dade County give money to panhandlers. The average gift is about one dollar in spare change. The total yearly giving per person ranges from $20 to $40. This adds up to more than $30 million in nickels, dimes and quarters given to panhandlers on a yearly basis. “The numbers are staggering,” said Homeless Trust Executive Director, David Raymond, “$30 million a year could end street homelessness in Miami-Dade County. We want people to think long and hard about giving money to panhandlers. In the right hands, it could be used to supply shelter beds and indoor meal programs, job training and in general, improve the dignity of these individuals.”

The Brigade: The most visible of the day’s activities will be a “slow roll and sidewalk march” down Biscayne Boulevard, led by Clear Channel radio personality Mobile Mike and his fleet of highly visible vehicles. The caravan will assemble at 2:30pm at The Office Depot on 121st and Biscayne Boulevard. They will leave The Office Depot at 3:30 and will arrive at Bayfront Park at 4:30. There will be free food and prizes at each of the stops. “This is great cause, it’s a great spectacle and if we can bring people out to build awareness to the homeless problem then we can also help end it,” said Mobile Mike. As in years’ past, teams of people will be gathering on street corners, holding up cardboard signs to draw people’s attention to homelessness in Miami-Dade County. Businesses along Biscayne Boulevard are encouraged to post signs and create displays of support for those organizations that are actively helping the homeless.

>>> M-DC Ethics Commission: Requests for Opinion

An Administrative Officer of the Miami-Dade Housing Finance Authority (HFA) may serve on a selection committee seeking private developers for public housing sites, as determined by the response to RQO 11-25. According to the Request for Proposals, the winning firms will obtain public and private financing for the housing projects and may seek bond financing from the HFA. But the Ethics Commission opined that since Taquan Williams-Aranha will not benefit directly or indirectly from the selection process and the HFA won’t be involved in bond financing until the conclusion of the award process, there is no conflict in her appointment.

The owner of a company that provides polygraph services for the Miami-Dade Police and Corrections Departments appealed an Ethics Commission response to an inquiry that found a conflict for Martha C. Jurney because her stepson is a police detective. Jurney & Associates, Inc., has provided polygraph services to the County since 1999, and the owner says Kent Jurney, Jr., has no involvement with the business. But last year, the portion of the County Ethics Code that prohibits contracts between vendors and departments that employ “immediate family members” was amended to include stepchildren in that definition. The Ethics Commission today ruled in RQO 11-29 that Jurney may not enter into a contract administered by the Police Department. Jurney may try to get a waiver of the opinion, but that would require a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Board of County Commissioners.

>>> Press release: www.POWER2GIVE.ORG , AN EASY TO USE, ONLINE FUNDRAISING PLATFORM DEBUTS IN MIAMI ON DECEMBER 14TH

The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Arts & Science Council and Knight Foundation introduce power2give.org, connecting people to cultural projects >> On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Arts & Science Council (ASC) located in Charlotte, N.C. and with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is launching www.power2give.org, a new fundraising platform to support arts and cultural projects in Miami-Dade County. Local arts organizations are embracing innovative and creative new ways to engage their audiences and secure more resources. power2give.org, created by ASC, offers a direct way to connect local arts and cultural projects with individuals and corporations interested in turning specific needs into realities. Cultural organizations’ listed needs describe clearly identified projects – for example, instruments for children in a youth orchestra or costumes for an upcoming theater production. People visiting the site can pick a need that interests them and direct their giving to making that exact project come to fruition.

The site’s Miami launch is going to feature funding needs for dozens of projects from myriad and varied organizations. power2give.org debuted in Charlotte, N.C. in late August 2011 under ASC’s auspices, and has already generated more than $200,000 in directed giving in that community. The Miami portion of the site is housed within the same URL, and can be accessed by selecting “Miami” from the drop-down box at the top of the home page. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has joined the Department of Cultural Affairs and ASC as a founding sponsor of power2give.org, providing each community $100,000 in matching donations to the first $100,000 in contributions made in Charlotte and Miami through the site. “This new platform gives people a personal connection to the organizations that create culture in our communities,” said Dennis Scholl, Knight Foundation’s vice president/Arts. “power2give.org also strives to engage new audiences and donors – meeting them where they are, which is increasingly online.” Power2give.org, conceived and developed by ASC, is borne out of the recognition that future funding of the cultural sector requires increasingly diversified and innovative means, and is in direct response to current trends in philanthropy. Giving from high net worth individuals is down 71% from 2007 according to the Center on Philanthropy. Meanwhile, 2010 trends indicate an increased number of gifts with smaller average gift sizes, further growth in online donations and a strong desire from donors to see where their gifts go. The site also creates a closer relationship between donors and the organizations they support.

“Miami’s philanthropic patterns and opportunities, like much of the rest of the United States, continue to shift and evolve, and power2give.org is one example of how the cultural funding support model must adapt in order to attract the resources needed to fuel our cultural industry,” said Adolfo Henriques, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Council. “Individuals and businesses have told us plainly that when they know the exact use of their contributions and can see the tangible impacts of their investments on making particular cultural projects possible, they feel greater senses of confidence and satisfaction.” Michael Spring, director of the Department of Cultural Affairs stated, “There are compelling needs within every cultural organization. power2give.org allows groups to describe those needs genuinely and specifically to their audiences and prospective donors, and to give those donors a broader understanding of just what it takes to make arts and cultural programs possible. It builds a deeper sense of involvement in and reality about the creative process for everyone.”

Currently, non-profit organizations that have received funding from the Department of Cultural Affairs within the past five years can post projects needing up to $10,000 on power2give.org. Organizations promote their projects to individuals through a variety of print, electronic and social media channels. Projects have up to 90 days to achieve their funding goals. The Department of Cultural Affairs and ASC are assessing the possibility of extending the opportunity to artists and other non-profits to post projects on the site in the future. Follow power2give.org on Twitter @power2give and ‘Like’ on Facebook at facebook.com/power2give. >>> About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation >> Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit www.KnightFoundation.org .

>>> Press release: RECORD ARRIVALS AT “THE NEW MIA” (MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT) FOR FIRST TEN MONTHS OF 2011

Passenger arrivals at Miami International Airport (MIA) increased for the first ten months of 2011 with international passenger arrivals up +8.4% and domestic arrivals up +5.7% when compared to the same ten months last year. Total arrivals increased in the first ten months of 2011 by +7.0%.

INTERNATIONAL MIA Passenger Arrivals
January – October 2011 January – October 2010 % Change
7,681,302 7,085,744 +8.4%

DOMESTIC MIA Passenger Arrivals
January – October 2011 January – October 2010 % Change
8,190,808 7,746,059 +5.7%

TOTAL MIA Passenger Arrivals
January – October 2011 January – October 2010 % Change
15,872,110 14,831,803 +7.0%

>>> Press release: ADOPT A PET FROM THE Animal Services DEPARTMENT SHELTER THIS HOLIDAY SEASON – Home for the Holidays… What better gift to give or receive than to adopt a pet

While shopping this holiday season, instead of buying the same old tie, shirt, blouse or perfume, what better gift to show someone how special they are than by giving them a shelter pet from the Miami-Dade Animal Services Department (ASD). Besides being a very special, unique and affordable gift, it’s the gift that keeps on giving long after the holidays are over. Thanks to the support and direction of Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, the Miami-Dade Animal Services Department is pleased to announce a reduced cost of half price for adoption fees during this holiday season from December 1, 2011, through December 30, 2011. To view available pets, visit www.miamidade.gov/animals.

“During these difficult economic times, the Department is pleased to offer a reduction in adoption fees in an effort to give our pets a second chance and even bring some joy into homes this season,” said Alex Muñoz, Director, Animal Services Department. Each year the Department receives more than 36,000 pets. The goal of Animal Services is to reunite lost pets with their families or find lifelong homes for as many animals as possible. What: Home for the Holidays. Half price adoption fees for shelter pets from the Miami-Dade Animal Services Department. When: December 1, 2011, through December 30, 2011 -Monday through Friday open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Where: Miami-Dade Animal Services Department, 7401 NW 74th Street, Miami, Florida 33166 For more information, visit www.miamidade.gov/animals or call 311.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Audit vice Chair Kemp takes the helm for Tuesday’s community firewall of public tax dollars, the audit committee

The public’s firewall when it comes to protecting, reviewing how school tax dollars are being spent is meeting Tuesday, and the citizen-based School Board Audit & Budget Advisory Committee is doing an outstanding job in keeping watch how this $4.3 billion in public money is being spent. Willie Kemp, CPA, the vice chair of the committee is chairing his first meeting this week after taking the number two leadership spot on the committee a few months ago and he is expected to do a great job in this new role. The Watchdog Report continues to write about this transformation of the committee that years ago had a chair that held that capacity for over ten-years, even though school board rules said there were leadership term limits. Since the departure of Hank Mack around 2003, there has been a normal progression of leadership changes on the committee and former prosecutor Jeffrey Shapiro is the current chair, and for him. It was his second time in this leadership capacity on a committee that also has school board Vice Chair Lawrence Feldman, Ph.D. (Net worth $2.52 million) on the body and other board members many times also attend the meetings.

It is at this forum that the internal financial guts of the nation’s fourth largest public schools district are dissected and reviewed and the first place fiscal red flags pop up in areas throughout the district. A decade ago land acquisition and construction overruns resulted in the state creating a separate oversight board that had to sign off on state money designated for school land acquisition, building new schools and maintenance and the body was chaired by Edward Easton back then. The board was later dissolved but it reminded the administration and school board that this type of activity was not going to be tolerated at the state level. And having an effective audit committee was one of the indirect by products of all the scrutiny and one of the reasons the public is not hearing or reading about a lot of scandals at the public schools district in recent years when it comes to misspent tax dollars.

Feldman

Some Charter Schools are getting attention by the audit committee

A number of the over 90 district charter schools are in the spotlight this week and in the case of Balare Language Academy, the organization has only $22,092 in net assets and three Lincoln Marti Charter Schools have challenges as well. The Hialeah Charter School run by the organization had a $377,499 deficit through June 2011 and there is an unusual $24 million credit arrangement that the school district is flagging, and the district is awaiting further documentation on this loan’s structure. Further, Advanced Learning Charter School is also showing a $159,737 deficit for the year that ended June 30. For more information and the agenda for the meeting go to http://mca.dadeschools.net/AuditCommittee/AC_Dec6_2011/agenda.pdf

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> UM Dean Goldschmidt tells FRB “there will be consequences,” if physicians poach paying Jackson Memorial Health patients to UM hospital

When it came to the relationship the University of Miami Miller Medical School and the Public Health Trust, contrary to how it was portrayed in a long profile on the issue in the www.miamiherald.com .“I was quite surprised to read reports in the newspaper because we have an extremely constructive relationship in place and it has been a blessing for all of us,” said medical school Dean Pascal Goldschmidt, M.D. at Monday’s Financial Recovery Board meeting. The dean said past Annual Operateing Agreements (that has Miami getting around $99 million for medical services provided to Jackson patients this year, down from around $130 million a few years ago), but there have been charges university physicians were poaching paying patients from the health trust. Goldschmidt, a cardiologist said in the past AOAs there has been “confusion about what constitutes a Jackson or UM patient.” And when it came to the new AOA being worked on that definition “is much clearer and there is no confusion,” and is similar to the Trust’s affiliation agreement with FIU’s new medical school in its third year of students.

Further, the physician told the FRB that “people that violate” keeping patients at Jackson and send them to the university’s own hospital across the street. These physicians will find “there will be consequences” if patients are stolen from Jackson Hospital. The dean also reiterated that part of the tension over the past years has been PHT management turnover and since his arrival in the mid 2000s he has “gone through three administrations” with the most recent change in May when former banker Carlos Migoya took over the financially hemorrhaging health trust. Goldschmidt also stressed the new AOA being worked on now would be like FIU’s “and would eliminate some of the complexity in the past” and he “thank[ed the FRB] for the opportunity [for UM doctors] to work at Jackson Memorial Hospital and the other hospitals,” as he closed his remarks to the FRB.

>>> PHT Asst. county attorney Coleman says sayonara, heading to Barry U.

Karon Coleman, an assistant Miami-Dade County attorney is saying sayonara after 17 years in the county attorney’s office of which the last 10 years were working at the health trust giving legal advice. Coleman, a Cornell University undergraduate, got her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and first worked for Legal Services of Greater Miami fresh out of law school in 1994 and she got married while working for the county attorney’s office. And the Watchdog Report became aware of that fact when I randomly checked her financial and gift filings for one year and there were all these gifts listed and when I checked with then number two attorney Murray Greenburg. He told me these were wedding gifts. She has been a solid attorney and has kept her nose clean when it came to any controversies and she is joining Barry University after her stint in county government. The Watchdog Report wishes her good luck in this new capacity and you did a good job for the people of Miami-Dade County.

>>> Put this in the book that Miami is a small town when it comes to relationships

The Watchdog Report covered a Children’s Trust committee meeting last week and it was held in the United Way of Miami-Dade’s Ryder Board room but outside in the hallway, United Way has posters of past co-chairs of the organization’s yearly fund raising drives and in 2004-2005 the top leadership of the drive was now PHT CEO Carlos Migoya and Donn Szaro, the PHT’s Chief Strategy Officer hired by Migoya when he took over in May. Further, FRB member Joe Arriola and Joe Natoli (He was the CFO at The Miami Herald at the time but is now the CFO of UM) were also the driving fundraising forces in 2000-2001.

>>>Press release: FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE APPOINTS DIRECTOR TO NEW ENDOVASCULAR INSTITUTE
AT JACKSON NORTH MEDICAL CENTER ~ Dr. Håkan Charles-Harris appointed to the position

Håkan Charles-Harris, M.D., FACS, a renowned surgeon, board-certified by the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Vascular Medicine – Endovascular, has been appointed by the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine as the director of the recently established Endovascular Institute at Jackson North Medical Center. A long-standing surgeon who has served the North Miami community for more than a decade, Dr. Charles-Harris’ expertise in endovascular procedures has made him the ideal leader to establish this highly anticipated Center of Excellence in North Miami.

In reaching out to our aging population, the Endovascular Institute will specialize in the minimally-invasive approach to treating blood vessel disease from inside the vessel using catheters, balloons and stents. Many patients in the community, especially of the baby-boomer generation and older, are suffering from the ill-effects of years of smoking, heart disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and claudication leading to peripheral arterial disease, commonly referred to as PAD. Common ailments that can be treated through endovascular means are peripheral artery occlusions; common, external, and internal iliac artery occlusions; renal artery stenosis; carotid artery stenosis; and abdominal aortic aneurysms. Renal failure patients also benefit from these procedures by treating AV-fistulas and AV-graft occlusions, pseudoaneurysms, and thombosed vessels.
In 2005, Dr. Charles-Harris successfully designed and established an Endovascular Surgery Suite in an operating room at North Shore Medical Center during his triple tenure as chief of surgery. Now, as the FIU COM Director of the Endovascular Institute at Jackson North, Dr. Charles-Harris is spearheading this new Center of Excellence which includes developing curriculum for training of medical students, collaborating with other specialists and disciplines who will participate in the institute, educating and raising awareness in the community regarding endovascular services, and providing an excellent resource for patients to obtain the best treatment within their own backyard.

Using modern, state-of-the-art digital and low-radiation equipment, the institute will provide the latest technology in the treatment of Endovascular procedures from diagnosing through angiograms, to treating with balloon angioplasty and stenting. Patients will benefit from increased blood flow and decreased pain, in addition to reduced need for major surgery, amputation and hospitalization. This highly advanced institute will be a beacon in the community for diagnostic testing, minimally-invasive procedures, centralized care, and both endovascular and vascular treatment options. During the last five years alone, Dr. Charles-Harris has performed more than 1,600 endovascular procedures. He is a member of several medical societies including the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association and the Society for Vascular Medicine. After being appointed Assistant Clinical Professor at FIU’s Wertheim School of Medicine in 2010, he accepted this new leadership role as Director of the Endovascular Institute. His office is located in North Miami. For additional information about the Vascular & Endovascular Institute or to make an appointment to discuss treatment options, call 1-855-CURE-PAD or visit his website at: www.all-surgery.com/endovascular .

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> The hits just keep on coming, New CFO chosen but no name yet, commission auditor still up in the air

The hits just keep on coming when it comes to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and the nightmare continues as legal bills begin to soar into the millions as the city tries to defend itself when it sold GOB bonds back in 2006 and now federal prosecutors have their eye on the Florida Marlins negotiations that Miami participated in and is on the hook for a couple of hundred million dollars in bonds. Further, while a new Miami Chief Financial Officer has been selected, the Watchdog Report has yet to get a name, and the CFO slot in the Miami budget was not included in the current year’s budget and needs to be funded. Further, with all this financial and oversight turmoil, the Commission Auditor slot is also vacant after long serving Auditor Victor Igwe’s contract was not renewed and he is suing the city. A knowledgeable insider told the Watchdog Report that originally there were three names suggested as the new auditor, but that may now be six candidates to fill the post that reports directly to the commission and was created in 2001 by city voters who approved its creation.

Now with this new federal wrinkle commissioners who are mostly new to the dais have to figure out how to proceed for this fiscal and legal turbulence will eventually be reflected when the bond rating companies review the city’s bond grade. And while Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $7,500) and the five commissioners head to the upcoming holiday events, these recent fiscal presents were not what they wanted under the tree over the holidays.

Regalado

COCONUT GROVE

>>> Press release: Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill chosen as Grand Marshal! ~ Former County Commissioner Katy Sorenson placed on King Mango Strut’s endangered species list.

Meet the Grand Marshal – Wednesday, December 7th, 8 pm, Greenstreet Café, 3468 Main Highway, Coconut Grove – Unlike the congressional “Super Committee,” the bipartisan disorganizers of the King Mango Strut hammered out a quick resolution naming Ron Magill as Grand Marshal. With over 30 years as a wildlife expert and Communications Director for Zoo Miami, Ron has allowed Burmese Pythons to encircle his neck like the King Mango Strut encircles Coconut Grove. There’s no better king of the jungle to lead the animal house of MangoHeads. As Grand Marshal of the 30th annual King Mango Strut, he’ll reign supreme to ‘Occupy the Grove’ on Saturday, December 31st at 2pm in Downtown Coconut Grove. This year’s Strut Celebrity is Katy Sorenson, the never recalled/never indicted/never removed-by-the-governor, former commissioner of Miami-Dade County.

Katy has been much closer to King Mango than Facebook’s 4 degrees of separation. She was Strut’s co-founder, Bill Dobson, boss. We are grateful that she never held it against him. The annual satirical street parade has been a model of civic engagement and civil uprising with enough material for a pickapeppa spray and sauce combination. In this interactive parade, the spectators, the true occupiers, are encouraged to bring tents, lawn chairs and cardboard signs. For the King Mango royal watchers, it’s the big hats and fascinators. >>> King Mango is still looking for a few good MangoHeads to strut in the parade. There are no entry fees, no special skills or x-factor auditions required; just join the fun and strut your funny. If your group needs ideas or people, come to our next Disorganizational meeting on December 7th at GreenStreet Café. We also need behind-the-scenes help. >>
If you want to participate, contact the King at kingmangostrut@gmail.com or call the Mango Hotline at 305-401-1171. For more information check out our new website at www.kingmangostrut.org. Follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/kingmangostrut for the latest Mango news & tidbits. Putting the NUT back in CocoNUT Grove since 1982.

Sorenson (Net worth $1.7 million)

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Beach activist and attorney Frank Del Vecchio calls for residents to rise up and oppose destination resort gambling

Email from Del Vecchio: Billionaire Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is trying to squelch Miami Beach opposition to destination casinos by dangling the possibility that he will build a convention/casino complex for us. ["Las Vegas mogul endorses Beach for casino site", Nov. 10 Herald article by Douglas Hanks.] http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/09/2494150/las-vegas-gambling-mogul-eyes.html#storylink=misearch This dangerous flirtation distracts us from the clear and present danger of a massive casino/convention center on the Herald/Omni site. The “Destination Casino” bill pending in the state legislature must be defeated to clear the way for an upgraded Convention Center on the Beach and avoid the nightmare of gridlock on MacArthur and Venetian Causeways. The casino bill can be defeated in the state legislature, but not if residents buy in to Wynn’s game.

Miami Beach knows better than to be taken in by the Las Vegas hard sell and the illusion of easy money. The sooner we scuttle the Destination Casino bill the sooner we can upgrade our convention center, capitalizing on our city s unique concentration of architecture, pedestrian ambience, art, music and dance, climate and beachfront. Casino industry hype is so intense; Miami Beach commissioners need confirmation that residents oppose casinos in Miami-Dade. >>> They will vote on this at their December 14 city commission meeting (item to be heard after 5PM). Opportunities for resident input: Meet with Mayor Bower, 6:30PM Wed., Dec. 7, Botanical Garden – City Commission Workshop, 4PM, Friday, Dec. 9, Convention Center Hall C, Room 134 — Chamber of Commerce “Gaming Forum”, 5:30PM-7:30PM Tuesday, Dec. 13, Convention Center Hall D — City Commission discussion item, after 5PM Wed., Dec. 14, city commission chambers
Residents should e-mail the mayor and commissioners on this matter: MayorBower@miamibeachfl.gov, Deede@miamibeachfl.gov, Ed@miamibeachfl.gov, Jerry@miamibeachfl.gov, Jonah@miamibeachfl.gov, Michael@miamibeachfl.gov, Jorge@miamibeachfl.gov

>>> Press release: Free NWS Concert for Miami Beach Residents – Miami Beach residents are invited to “Sights & Sounds of the Season,” a free New World Symphony holiday concert on Saturday, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. The complimentary tickets are available at the New World Symphony box office, 500 17 Street, Miami Beach. Tickets are available to residents with valid proof of residency on a first-come basis. The concert is made possible by the City of Miami Beach as part of its agreement with the New World Symphony.

CITY OF NORTH MIAMI

>>> M-DC Ethics Commission ruling: North Miami Officer settles ethics complaint

A police officer in North Miami accused of violating the ethics code by profiting from security measures taken at City Hall has agreed to settle the complaint (C 11-30) filed by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust. James Mesidor, who also owns a security company, subcontracted work to install cameras in the mayor’s office with one firm and conduct security sweeps of the building with another company. After Mesidor submitted an invoice, he was told that, as an employee, he could not do business with the city. The investigation found that Mesidor had his nephew submit the invoice under a different company’s name, paid the subcontractors and pocketed the difference. According to the settlement agreement, Officer Mesidor will pay a fine of $500 along with restitution of his profit, which totaled $1,688.84.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> Clock is ticking with new Biltmore Hotel agreement; commission awaiting the final document says Anderson and Cabrera

The hashing out of a new Biltmore Hotel agreement with the city is still percolating but commissioners are awaiting the final contract expected to occur in the near future. Mayor Jim Cason has said he would call a special commission meeting to review the final document but that has yet to occur. The Watchdog Report contacted the mayor and commissioners last week asking about any update on the matter and Commissioners Maria Anderson and Ralph Cabrera, Jr., responded to the email. Anderson wrote, “A conclusion is forthcoming, but as to when exactly, I won’t speculate. Enough said for now, but thanks for keeping up with this important issue,” wrote the veteran commissioner elected in 2001. Cabrera wrote, “At this time, the city has presented the agreement to Seaway (The Biltmore) and we are waiting for their comments and or execution. That all I know,” wrote Cabrera who was elected at the same time as Anderson.

CITY OF DORAL

>>> Press release: Survey Shows High Marks for Doral -96.4% of those surveyed would recommend Doral as a place to live and work-

At the bequest of the City of Doral, the Metropolitan Center at Florida International University conducted a telephone survey of 408 City of Doral households. And the results are in.. According to the survey, Doral residents show they are generally satisfied with life in the City of Doral.. The vast majority of Doral residents (95.9%) rated the quality of life within the City as good/excellent. The majority (96.4%) would also recommend the City of Doral as a place to live and work. The purpose of the survey conducted by FIU was to provide estimates of household size, and also assess consumer expenditures and needs. The majority of those surveyed approved the physical appearance of the shopping districts, the quality of goods and services, and the sense of comfort and safety. But there is always room for improvement. Residents would like to see more bookstores, nightclubs and restaurants.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> School District comes in #15 in student loss since 2004-05, Miami-Dade #17 in falling enrollment around FL.

In a state audit of the public schools districts student enrollment loss around Florida, Broward ranked number 15 in student loss and the nation’s sixth largest public district went from a high in student enrollment of 269,041 in 2004-2005 to 255,174 students in 2009-2010 state’s the report. This shift coincides with the drop in population after multiple hurricanes slammed into South Florida in the mid 2000s and forced homeowner insurance rates through the ceiling and had many residents for the first time moving north and after decades. Florida for the first time lost population and that is reflected in the number of kids going to the public schools. Further, Broward was not alone with this reduction and Miami-Dade peaked in the earlier time from 362,253 weighted full time students to 343,953 enrollments in 2009, down some 5.05 percent to Broward’s 5.15 percent loss.

However, both districts during the boom times before this decline embarked on extensive new school construction, that had Dade with almost 3,000 portable classrooms and now the school district is dealing with massive capital debt and both districts are having difficulty servicing its debt since no funding for capital improvements will be coming from the state this budget year. Further, the school board has many new faces on it after a blistering Broward state grand jury report last year was released that had school board members pushing their own pet projects for years rather than what was needed. The grand jury would have recommended dissolving the school board if that was legal but it does show how dysfunctional it had become over the past decade, with a couple of past board members either in jail or awaiting trial. To read the Florida’s Auditor’s Report on enrollment loss go to

http://mca.dadeschools.net/AuditCommittee/AC_Dec6_2011/agenda.pdf

>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.

OSCEOLA COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott and Colt’s Manufacturing Co. Announce New Jobs Coming to Osceola County

Today, Colt’s Manufacturing Co. LLC announced its commitment to create 63 jobs in Osceola County for its new regional headquarters and product-manufacturing center. The center will hire people for engineering and manufacturing jobs, among others. In 2012, Colt is projected to begin phasing in the first of 63 jobs paying an average salary of $45,060 to be created during the following three years. Governor Rick Scott and Colt’s Manufacturing Company President and CEO Lieutenant General M. William Keys USMC (Ret.) were joined by the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners for the announcement. “As a supporter of new job creation and the Second Amendment, this announcement sends the clear message that Florida is both open for business and a defender of our right to bear arms,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said. “My primary responsibility as governor is to be our state’s chief advocate for job creation. My personal involvement in bringing Colt to Florida demonstrates my administration’s deep commitment to rebuilding our economy.”

Colt is making a $2.5 million capital investment in a vacant building, which the company will lease, that is owned by Osceola County. Governor Scott and his economic development team at Enterprise Florida Inc. and the Osceola County Economic Development Department worked with Colt to bring this project to fruition. State incentives include $250,000 from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund and funds for workforce training. Osceola County is offering additional incentives, including renovation of the building and rent concessions.
“Colt looked at many possible sites across the nation, but we ultimately decided to locate our new facility in the State of Florida,” Gen. Keys said. “Florida offered a strong pro-business incentive package. Coupled with the low cost of doing business in Florida and a favorable regulatory environment, opening this new facility was very attractive to us. Governor Scott’s personal commitment to both Colt’s growth plan and America’s right to bear arms was instrumental in our decision.”

“Attracting an American icon like Colt, which is one of the world’s top brands, is a real coup for our economic development efforts,” said Commission Chairman John Quiñones. “Beyond creating new, high-wage jobs, Colt is going to be a great asset to our community.” “Colt’s expansion to Osceola County is a perfect fit for the region,” said Dr. Sanford Shugart, president of Valencia College, which will design a specialized training program for the company. “Valencia College stands ready to deliver the best trained, best educated workforce possible. We welcome Colt’s Manufacturing Company to Osceola County and commit to partnering with them and serving their employees and families for many years to come.”

LEON COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott names three appointments to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Donald J. Weidner, 66, of Tallahassee, is Dean of the Florida State University College of Law. He succeeds Nicholas W. Romanello and is appointed for a term beginning November 29, 2011, and ending June 5, 2015.

Randolph Braccialarghe, 63, of Plantation, is a professor of law at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad Law Center. He succeeds Clinton R. Losego and is appointed for a term beginning November 29, 2011, and ending June 5, 2015.

Louis T.M. Conti, 62, of Tampa, is a partner with Holland and Knight L.L.P. He succeeds Scott L. Baena and is appointed for a term beginning November 29, 2011, and ending June 5, 2015. >>The appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Two Kristi House holiday events -Wednesday, December 7, 10 am – 10 pm: Shop to support Kristi House and help us raise awareness to end the epidemic of child sexual abuse. Five percent of Whole Foods’ profits on Dec. 7 will be donated to Kristi House! Make your shopping list and come out to the Coral Gables store (by Sunset Place) to show your support anytime during the day or evening. Kristi House volunteers will be on hand to distribute information and greet you in the check-out lanes! For details about this event, contact Marketing Team Leader Melissa Jacobs at melissa.jacobs@wholefoods.com or Mary Faraldo, Development Officer at Kristi House at mfaraldo@kristihouse.org

“The Miracle on 12th Street” Client Holiday Party -Saturday, December 10, 10 am – 4pm: The 10th Annual Holiday party for the Children we serve at Kristi House, Orlowitz-Lee Children’s Advocacy Center. On this day, each of our clients receives a wrapped toy, as do their siblings. Our children and their families enjoy a relaxing and fun-filled day. Please help us bring them the joy they need! Donate today! Volunteers needed! For volunteer information, please contact Abegail de la Fuente at 305-547-6800

>>> Downtown Bay Forum www.downtownbayforum.org Luncheon Meeting -Wednesday December 7, 2011 at 11:30 am — The Downtown Bay Forum Celebrates Our 20th Anniversary: What Does the Future Hold for the next 20 Years? Speakers include: T. Willard Fair Miami Urban League – Maurice Ferre Former Mayor of Miami & County Commissioner -Kathy Fernandez-Rundle State Attorney- Miami-Dade County — Michael Lewis Publisher- Miami Today — Bill Talbert President- Greater Miami Visitors Bureau >> Wolfson Auditorium at Temple Israel, 137 NE 19th Street, Miami. Free self-parking available. To reserve, call Annette Eisenberg, (305)757-3633 or fax (305)754-2015. Member with reservation, $22. Non-member or member without reservation, $26. Membership $30.

EDITORIALS

>>> MAM board sellout to Perez not sitting well with taxpayers, $100 million and prime land on the public’s dime, should name a wing for developer

Michael Putney on Sunday did a commentary on his show This Week in South Florida www.wplg.com and he objected to the new Miami Art Museum (MAM) being named after Jorge Perez since he would donate $35 million over ten years, of which millions would be in art, to the new museum being built on Bicentennial Park and set to open in 2013. The city of Miami donated this precious parkland overlooking the bay and the taxpayers of Miami and Miami-Dade have provided around $100 million of the $167 million raised to date. And Perez, who has just put up $5 million to date should reconsider the move and as Putney suggests name a wing of the facility after him, because this move not only shows a certain arrogance, but also sticks it to taxpayers. The bulk of the public money for this endeavor comes from the project being part of the $2.9 General Obligation Bond countywide voters passed in 2004 and that seems to be forgotten by the MAM board and that is too bad for this decision if it stands. Will come back to haunt these art mavens who seem to be out of touch with the mood of taxpayers who are not the Gucci and wine and cheese crowd as Miami-Dade Commissioner Javier Souto calls them.

Perez, a former city of Miami employee before striking out on his own decades ago doing first low cost housing has evolved and many of the new high-end condominiums downtown were built by his Related firm, but he also has generated controversy. And given the permanency of the art museum, there is no reason to doubt other issues may come up with Perez in the years ahead and the selling of the name of the museum makes it just like a professional football stadium, which it is not. And one needs only look at other world-renowned museums around the world and these reflect the place these are located in, not the Napoleon Museum of Art. Further, it makes the museum sound like just another art patron’s collection not the art ground zero museum for Miami-Dade it is supposed to be. And the MAM board is treading on thin ice with this maneuver and it reminds me of something an older retired woman from Miami Beach back in the early 2000s said. She said, “It did not bother me so much that we were a corrupt community, but it was that we were so cheap” that bothered her. And this is just another example of this cheapness for the museum was supposed to be for the 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade and not some small group of people. And apparently, the MAM board does not get that fact even though the public money and prime land on the bay the board will take. And that is a sad commentary on all of us in South Florida and taxpayers would be in their rights to blast this sellout of what should be a community treasure that is largely being funded on the backs of the taxpaying public.

LETTERS

>>> Editorial: Water Management Districts: Intact, on Task and Spending Wisely

Myths and misinformation continue to swirl around Florida’s water management districts and their ability to do their job with lower revenues and smaller organizations. In South Florida, unfounded concerns have been expressed about the future of Everglades restoration, the capacity of our District scientists and the erosion of our regulatory authority. The facts can alleviate these unwarranted fears.

Fact 1. The establishment of Florida’s five water management districts is firmly rooted in statute. In Florida, water is a public resource. The districts were specifically created by the Water Resources Act in 1972 to manage and protect the state’s waters on behalf of our citizens. For four decades, we have fulfilled our responsibilities of managing water supply, water quality, flood protection and natural systems in the public interest through a solid regulatory framework, governing boards appointed by the Governor and state oversight through the Department of Environmental Protection. This framework has not changed.

Fact 2. The South Florida Water Management District is indeed building a leaner, more efficient agency by eliminating unnecessary expenses and getting back to its core mission. In doing so, we are saving South Floridians $128 million through a 30-percent tax reduction, the majority of which was realized by cutting overhead and administrative costs. This is welcomed news for taxpayers who expect cost-effective services, government transparency and accountability in spending.

Fact 3. The District continues to be a dynamic agency, providing more than 1,600 jobs across the region. Close to half of these jobs are dedicated to operating South Florida’s massive flood control system. To support water resource protection and environmental restoration, more than 25 percent of our workforce holds Ph..D. or Master degrees, and we have more than 150 certified professional engineers and geologists on staff. This highly qualified, capable and competent workforce is focused on efficiently achieving the agency’s water management responsibilities.

Fact 4. The District’s $576.1 million budget is being used to deliver tangible, meaningful results. For fiscal year 2012, more than 70 percent of the budget will go toward flood control and restoring the South Florida ecosystem. With a combined investment of more than $850 million in 2011 and 2012, we will be completing construction on a half dozen restoration projects. And over the next five years, the District will use financial reserves to invest another $350 million toward developing and protecting the water resources of this state and to improving the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds.

Fact 5. Our appointed Governing Board is highly engaged and actively guiding the agency’s work. Representing diverse South Florida interests, these volunteers have oversight of District activities and provide policy direction on all issues, including regulatory functions. The District continues to scrutinize permit applications to ensure water resource protection, and we share with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection the objective of improved statewide consistency while recognizing our regional diversity. There is no effort to weaken our standards.

These facts do not represent the actions of a disabled water management district. Just the opposite. They are the actions of a government agency true to its founding principles, clearly focused on its mission, streamlined in its internal operations and delivering efficient and cost-effective water resource management.

Joe Collins, Chairman
South Florida Water Management District Governing Board

>>> American Graduate initiative by WLRN to reduce dropout rates starts next year

Please see the attached press release regarding our launch of the American Graduate: Let’s make it happen initiative to help local communities find solutions to address the dropout crisis in the United States. WLRN Public Radio and Television is the American Graduate public media station for Miami. In addition, I would to extend an invitation to our event on January 10, 2012. Please go to this link for more event details and registration. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=9dqtfgiab&oeidk=a07e5exp98g39631790

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
********************************************************************

Watchdog Report Supporters Invoice-Form

NOTE: Invoice is for Yearly supporter/sponsorship Rates: Thank you.

Supporting Sponsors $5,000
Sustaining Sponsors $2,000
Corporate Sponsors $1,000 (All levels above will be listed in the report with web-site link if desired)
Large Business Supporters $500
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Name & Address

Please make checks payable to: Daniel A. Ricker

Send to: 3109 Grand Avenue, #125
Miami, FL 33133
Fax 305-668-4784 -To contact the Publisher please e-mail watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

>>> The Watchdog Report publisher would like to thank the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation www.knightfoundation.org for funding by the Knight Foundation with technical support from the Knight Center for International Media http://knight.miami.edu within the University of Miami’s School of Communication www.miami.edu to maintain my webpage.

>>> RED ALERT: I NEED FINANCIAL HELP IF THIS IS TOO CONTNUE AFTER 12-YEARS: If you think it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider becoming a supporter or sponsor. For there is no trust fund, and I do have to live and I hope you or your organization will consider helping in a small or larger way and help keep another voice on line in the media. A convenient form is at the bottom of this week’s Watchdog Report with all the instructions on how to support this newsletter and news service that has celebrated its 12th Anniversary May 5, 2011.

ARGUS REPORT – Heard, Seen on the Street

>>> Camillus House feeds 350,000 meals a year, says sayonara to location, but there is a up tick in homeless people in downtown Miami

“Hope is where the Heart Is,” is the Camillus House motto and after years in the same location in downtown Miami near the AA Arena and feeding hundreds of thousands of people over the years the organization did its last Thanksgiving Farewell Feast Celebration Thursday at the location. The organization is moving to a new facility set to open around July next year and the new complex is coming together with the Shepard’s Court building and some permanent housing being built and will conclude when another eight story building and dining room is finished said Dr. Paul Ahr on Thursday. Further, Camillus has scaled back the number of people staying in the old pavilion and shelter on the site and the reduction of beds has been picked up by adding rooms at Harbor House and the Rescue Mission. Camillus served roughly 350,000 meals during the past year and has been housing about 800 people a night at the faculties.

What about the homeless count in downtown Miami?

The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has created a committee to see what can be done about the number of homeless people living on the streets, whose population is swelling now that winter is hitting the northeast United States. Miami-Dade Homeless Trust documents indicate that during the last homeless people census that 330 people were counted in the downtown area of the city’s overall 534 people living on the streets, up from 499 people in the last count. The issue of trying to deal with homeless people in the downtown area has become a bigger issue than years ago now that the large new condominiums are being filled up and the people in the expensive units feel they are trapped from walking the local streets at night. The trust documents state that the County and South Dade “areas are down,” but that is not the case with Miami and Miami Beach “where the most growth [of people living on the street] was observed.”

What about other organizations feeding programs?

A host of organizations on Thanksgiving Day offered feasts for residents in need and besides Camillus House, the Lotus House fed some 400 people and in Coconut Grove. The St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church did the honors and the Watchdog Report gives a Tip of the Hat to all organizations around South Florida that did their part to feed these people in need.

>>> IBOPE Zogby Poll: One-in-Four Voters Say They Are Likely To Support Third-Party Candidate Including 41% of Voters Ages 18-29

One-in-four voters say they would be likely to support a third-party or independent candidate for President. This includes 41% of voters ages 18-29 and 36% of voters who identify as independents. These results are from an IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted from Nov. 15-17, 2011. Men (31%) are also more likely than women (16%) to support a third party candidate.
How likely would you be to support a third party/independent candidate for President?

Response All voters 18-29 Independents Men Women
Likely (Very +Somewhat likely) 24% 41% 36% 31% 16%
Unlikely (Somewhat + Very unlikely) 68% 49% 59% 65% 71%
Not sure 8% 10% 5% 4% 13%

IBOPE Zogby International conducted an online survey of 2,064 likely voters. A sampling of IBOPE Zogby International’s online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S., was invited to participate. Slight weights were added to region, party, age, race, religion, gender, and education to more accurately reflect the population. The margin of error is +/- 2.2 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. The MOE calculation is for sampling error only.

>>> Old timers in “brawl” are whipped by juniors in 57th Turkey Bowl at Miami’s Peter & Paul High School

The 57th Annual Turkey Bowl at Rick Adams Field at the Sts. Peter & Paul High School was held Thursday and in a tight game with the winner only coming at the end of the game. The “juniors won 12-8 in a brawl with alumni and the game’s winner came right down to the wire,” wrote Miami Historian Paul George, Ph.D., who organizes the event every Thanksgiving.

>>> National profile of the publisher in The Tribune papers Jan. 2003 & UNCCH 2004 media study that cites Watchdog Report having 100,000 readers weekly
To read a national story run in the Tribune papers on my life and how this all began done by Orlando Sentinel featured reporter Maya Bell go to: To read the section’s large front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>> And to read a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on the media in the Southeast United States that mentions the Watchdog Report with 100,000 readers weekly, done back in 2004 and to read the Southern Media Study go to: Daniel Ricker of the Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than … – - Cached.

>>> All photos in the Watchdog Report are taken from public government sites, and the Report goes on line at www.watchdogreport.net on Monday sometime during the day usually. >>> If you believe it is important to have someone watching your public institutions consider supporting the Watchdog Report for I am a low cost news service yet I do have to live, thank you! Further, I have been honored over the years by being named a WFOR-4 Hometown Hero in 2000, being profiled in a major way by The Miami New Times, twice in The Miami Herald, and the Orlando Sentinel which ran as a nationwide story on me in the Tribune papers on Jan. 2003 and UNC Chapel Hill naming me one of the top columnists in Florida in a multi-state study of the media back in 2004. I also thank Joseph Cooper for the opportunity to be on the WLRN/NPR showTopical Currents on www.wlrn.org since 2000, including yearly election coverage since then, and also numerous times over the past decade. Further, I am a frequent guest on WWW.WPBT2.ORG on Helen Ferre’s show Issues, and have also appeared on Eliott Rodriguez’s show News & Views.

FLORIDA

>>> State Rep. Bileca goes to Tallahasee, finds everyone “is a fiscal conservative,” except when it comes to their own programs

State Rep. Michael Bileca, R-Miami is the newest local example of Mr. Smith Goes to Tallahassee and he talked about what drew him into state politics after volunteering for the first time on U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign “that did not go so well” back in 2008. Bileca, first elected to House District 117 in 2010 is an entrepreneur and owns a healthcare firm. He is a CPA and is on the Jackson Health System Financial Recovery board and he was appointed by state Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami (Net worth $1.85 million) to the seven-member board. The man talked about his family roots and how his immigrant family back in Romania avoided the “fascists,” for years during World War II and when his father went to an American school. He was placed in first grade since he did not speak English, though he was older than the other kids were and his dad would later serve in the U.S. Army, and instilled the value of hard work. The freshman legislator said his “father had to do everything at a higher level” and passed on to his son how important it was in life “to give a helping hand to each other.”

Bileca said at The Elephant Forum luncheon Monday that the conversion came after a past Forum luncheon after the 2008 election that had then Mayor Lynda Bell (Net worth $308,000) the mayor of Homestead speaking and she said Republicans “can’t run from our conservative principles.” He said he had come to that luncheon depressed with his father and “left the meeting going from dejection to hope,” and the issue is “what is the proper role of government?” He said the political climate in the legislature was driven by “partisanship” and the debate “is less civil” because there is so much division and what we are dealing with “is two different ideologies that are not compatible.” He said Republicans have found “common agreement on the core values of freedom, a sense of personal responsibility” and they have found “unity” on these issues. He said the “Democratic liberal side was the antithesis of the Republican Party” and why there is such a political divide between the parties.

He said getting state government programs reduced or ended was almost impossible and believes government “breeds systems of dependency that can’t be eliminated.” He questioned why everyone in the state’s public schools “get a free lunch” and it “is a $1 billion free lunch program” and while he understands the need for many of the kids in the state. The legislator objects because, “There are no income checks on participants” and it gives the public the feeling “you are entitled to it.” He said one of the biggest challenges to reining in government is because “everyone is a fiscal conservative, until you try to cut money from one of their programs.”

When it came to Jackson Health System and the new federal healthcare legislation, he thought what Republicans call Obama Care “will be a nightmare” and government has a poor record when it comes to “running efficiently” and “creates abnormalities” in these public health institutions. He said in the good years Jackson got “almost $500 million in public dollars” and that had Jackson expanding to the north and south of the county and “in the government world there is no such thing as a surplus,” he said. Bileca noted Jackson has “gotten so big and bloated for so long” that it had to be slimmed down if it was to survive. He also questioned the success of “the federal government tinkering” trying to make all the nation’s hospitals “like the Mayo or Cleveland Clinic” and “if we think government can create that, I don’t see it,” he said.

When it came to destination resort gambling casinos being pushed by the Genting Group from Malaysia and the company’s planned over $3.5 billion plus investment building the nation’s largest such complex at the Miami Herald and Omni sites. He said since the legislature has to approve the gambling legislation being pushed by state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff R-Ft. Lauderdale (Net worth $568,000) and state Rep. Eric Fresen, R-Miami (Net worth $330,000). He personally was shocked at the amount “of money flowing into the political system and it is most distasteful” noting the cash was going to “both Republicans and Democrats.” And he questioned the overall social and infrastructure toll on South Florida and how it would affect the community as a whole for decades to come.

Bileca

Bogdanoff

Fresen

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

>>> Drama at county hall as lobbyists battle it out for public housing sites, Sen. Diaz de la Portilla leads the objection charge

Who knew government incentive pubic housing sites would be so lucrative and controversial when the county commission heard from public housing construction firms Wednesday employing a sea of lobbyists to try to overturn the county mayor’s selection choices. The lead lobbyist for Pinnacle Housing was attorney and state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami (Net worth $486,000) with the law firm of Becker &Polikoff. He was the lead instigator during the hearing claiming the selection process was bogus and he represented Pinnacle Housing Corp, the seventh largest builder in the nation, and when it comes to building public housing. The organization was just as competitive as the firms chosen. The discussion of this issue had to be carried over after the state senator invoked a state law that forces lower boards and courts to defer a hearing of legislation until the lawmaker is available if they are involved with a client.

Diaz de la Portilla, looking relaxed in the Chambers crossed verbal swords with a host of the top lobbying attorneys whose clients had been selected. The metaphors, jokes and snarkey remarks flew during the multi-hour debate, and some of South Florida’s top developers had their representatives in the fray. The senator felt the selection process was flawed and was not consistent with county policy and while he did not prevail in this argument, it was good theater by county commission standards.

>>> Here is what the commission did on the item Wednesday: 112404 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SELECTION OF AND EXECUTION OF GROUND LEASE AGREEMENTS WITH BISCAYNE HOUSING GROUP, LLC; CARLISLE DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC; GATEHOUSE DEVELOPMENT CORP., GORMAN & COMPANY, INC.; THE MICHAELS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLP; AND RUDG, LLC, FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY OWNED LAND TO ALLOW APPLICATION TO THE FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION FOR NINE PERCENT LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS, WAIVING THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTIONS 2-8.3 AND 2-8.4 OF THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY CODE PERTAINING TO BID PROTESTS, BY A TWO-THIRDS VOTE OF THE BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT; AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. R-05-10 RELATING TO LINCOLN GARDENS AND VICTORY HOMES; AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY MAYOR OR COUNTY MAYOR’S DESIGNEE TO EXECUTE AGREEMENTS FOR AND ON BEHALF OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND TO EXERCISE ANY CANCELLATION AND RENEWAL PROVISIONS, AND TO EXERCISE ALL OTHER RIGHTS CONTAINED THEREIN CONTRACT NO. RFP794(Internal Services

REPORT: It was moved by Commissioner Sosa that the Board adopt the foregoing proposed resolution as amended to award ground leases pursuant to Request for Proposals (RFP) No. 794 and to waive the Bid Protest Procedures pursuant to Sections 2-8.3 and 2-8.4 of the Code of Miami-Dade County (See Agenda Item 14A5 Supplement, Legislative File No. 112467). This motion was seconded by Commissioner Edmonson, and upon being put to a vote, passed by a vote of 8-0 (Commissioners Bell, Bovo, Diaz, Souto and Suarez were absent).The amended version was assigned Resolution No. R-1026-11.

>>> Press release: Should voters be allowed to voice their opinion on destination resort casinos?

During the Board of County Commission meeting today, Miami-Dade County Chairman Joe A. Martinez introduced a resolution that would have placed a question on the upcoming Countywide election, to be held on January 31, 2012, to electors on whether they support the presence of destination resort casinos in Miami-Dade County.

“Our legislature has introduced a bill that would allow destination resort casinos in our community. We have all heard from those interested in opening a casino but as an elected representative of this community, I want to hear from our constituents,” said Chairman Martinez. “For that reason, I proposed this non-binding question to go forward in the January election along with the Home Rule Charter questions so that the voters can tell us if they want Miami to become a resort casino destination.” For more information, please contact Chairman Martinez’ office at 305-375-5511.

>>> GMCVB Press release: DEMAND FOR TRAVEL TO GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES REMAINS STRONG ― GREATER MIAMI & THE BEACHES RANKS #4 IN REVENUE PER AVAILABLE ROOM (REV PAR), #4 IN AVERAGE DAILY ROOM RATE (ADR) AND #4 IN HOTEL ROOM OCCUPANCY FOR JANUARY – OCTOBER 2011 AMONG THE TOP 25 U.S. MARKETS
For the first ten months of 2011 (January–October), Greater Miami and the Beaches showed increases vs. 2010, ranking #4 in Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) at $114.22, #4 in Hotel Room Occupancy at 75.8% and #4 in Average Daily Room rate (ADR) at $150.79 among the Top 25 Markets in the U.S. Smith Travel Research compares the top markets in the United States based on Occupancy, Average Daily Room Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar).

Top 25 Hotel Markets Revenue Per Available Hotel Room [Rev Par] January – October 2011
$ % Change vs. 2010
1. New York $192.79 + 6.3%
2. Oahu Island $131.62 +13.6%
3. San Francisco $126.14 +19.7%
4. Miami $114.22 +13.9%
5. Boston $110.07 +7.8%

Top 25 Hotel Markets Average Daily Occupancy January – October 2011
% % Change vs. 2010
1. New York 81.2% -0.2%
2. Oahu Island 81.1% +3.5%
3. San Francisco 80.8% +5.0%
4. Miami 75.8% +8.0%
5. Boston 73.6% + 3.2%

Top 25 Hotel Markets Average Daily Room Rate January – October 2011
$ % Change vs. 2010
1 New York $237.55 + 6.5%
2. Oahu Island $162.37 +9.7%
3. San Francisco $156.08 +14.0%
4. Miami $150.79 +5.5%
5. Boston $149.45 + 4.4%

>>> Press release: The Beacon Council Embarks on Joining Forces Miami to Assist Local Veterans and Military

The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s official economic development partnership, is starting a new program called “Joining Forces Miami” to track employment and opportunities for veterans, military personnel and their spouses in Miami-Dade County. The Beacon Council and their 274 member companies are committed to energizing and collaborating with the South Florida business community to collectively strive to hire 4,000 veterans by the end of 2013. The Beacon Council will target major public and private local employers, as well companies that are recruited to Miami-Dade County, to ensure that all efforts are made to provide employment to veterans, military personnel and their spouses.
“Joining Forces Miami will provide our organization with a conduit to reach out to our local business community to ensure that we are maximizing the resources available to assist our veterans and military community,” said Frank R. Nero, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Beacon Council. “Our military industry is an important component of our local economy, and this program is one step in ensuring that Miami-Dade is a friendly, military community.”

The Beacon Council will carry out this program through its Miami-Dade Defense Alliance, which focuses on the retention and expansion our military industry and making Miami-Dade County a military friendly community for our veterans, military personnel and their families. The Joining Forces Miami program will operate through extensive community outreach to those organizations that have a role in the employment of veterans, military personnel and their spouses, including Miami-Dade County’s major public and private employers, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Association of Defense Communities, Miami-Dade County, Workforce Florida, Enterprise Florida, local chambers of commerce, local veterans support organizations, The United Way and local universities.

The Beacon Council will follow up with the companies that have made employment commitments to determine if the commitment has been met and, if not, find the impediments to meeting the commitment. This component of the program is critical as a means of identifying systemic issues that are impeding with the employment of military personnel and their families and as well possible solutions to the issues and can also highlight those employers that have met their commitment and identify lessons learned and best practices that can contribute to the sustainability of the program. The Beacon Council also will provide assistance with new federal resources that will be available through the Federal government.

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

>>> Perez battles for amended 2012 redistricting map but effort goes down in flames 8-1

The school board passed nine new Board Districts for the board members to represent, after redistricting factored in the 2010 Census numbers and the vote was 8 to 1 with long serving board Member Marta Perez (Net worth $2.18 million) verbally fighting to the end to keep her old district more intact. She is said to be planning to sue the public school district in court. Perez said she thought the newly configured districts that had been reviewed at a board committee where the issue was extensively discussed earlier unjustly impacted her more than the other eight members and specifically took a shot at Board Member Carlos Curbelo (Net worth $226,000) for pushing the changes.

The board members as a whole during the discussion generally said they all lost or gained areas in the school board districts and Perez’s introduction of an alternative map of the proposed districts got no traction and they went with what was proposed by the cartographer Guillermo Olmedillo and the attorney the district hired for this process. Since the shape of the board districts was part of a federal judicial decree in the early 1990s that eliminated at large school board member districts to allow more ethnic diversity on the board.

Curbelo

Perez

Perla Tabares Hantman, School Board Member and last year’s Chair was elected for the fifth time to chair the Miami-Dade County School Board for the year ahead. “This is an honor for me and I accept the responsibility with gratitude and enthusiasm,” said Ms. Hantman. Ms. Hantman was originally elected to the School Board in 1996 to represent District 4. She was the first Hispanic woman to serve as Chair and was elected by her peers for three consecutive terms in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Dr. Lawrence S. Feldman was elected for the second time as Vice Chair. Dr. Feldman, who represents District 9, was elected to the School Board in 2008.

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

>>> FRB Treasurer Arriola’s fiery temper gets him into trouble again, threatening to throw a reporter ‘out the f—king window,’ not a resume builder

There he goes again, Financial Recovery Board Treasurer Joe Arriola lost his temper at the FRB committee meeting recently when Miami Herald veteran reporter John Dorschner www.miamiherald.com asked him about a possible conflict and would he report to the University of Miami what was said at a upcoming closed door strategy meeting the board held last week. Arriola, 64, responded to the reporter’s question angrily saying the man was out of bounds to ‘question my ethics’ and ‘If you do that again, I’m going to throw you out the f – -king window.’ Arriola was asked that question because he had to resign from the older larger PHT board where he was the university’s appointment and University of Miami board trustee, before the Miami-Dade commission confirmed him on the new smaller FRB in the spring.

The self made man who does not have a college degree, made his money owning a printing company and when he sold the business back in the late 1990s, it was said to have sold for over $40 million. Since then he has been involved in civic causes, was the co-chair for the United Way of Miami-Dade’s yearly fund drive, was on the health trust board for a couple of years, but left in January 2003 after Miami Mayor Manny Diaz (net worth $1.8 million) chose him as the new city manager. He later applied in 2005 to be back on the PHT board but after an incident where he physically made contact with me while I was sitting formally at the Public Health Trust Nominating Council interviews. County commissioners on the Council interviewing candidates after the incident decided his personality was too volatile to be put back on the high profile public board.

He would later resurface on the PHT board after UM appointee Stanley Arkin to the Jackson board stepped down for health reasons and the university named him as the institution’s representative on the then 17-member PHT board. And during this time he had a number of sharp verbal exchanges with fellow PHT Trustee Robin Reiter-Faragalli including one exchange where she suggested Arriola might have violated a Florida Sunshine Law when he spoke to UM Miller Medical School Dean Pascal Goldschmidt M.D., about the selection of Carlos Migoya as the new head of the health trust that he took over in May. After a national search was done for CEO Dr. Eneida Roldan’s replacement running the health enterprise. And this recent incident is not the first time the man, considered worth listening to because he does not give a damn what people think, but also has critics and observers calling him a bully and a loose canon when it comes to being in public service in such a high profile capacity.

The Watchdog Report talked to one FRB member last week about this temperament issue, that reflects on the whole board, that such outbursts were unacceptable behavior and a black eye for the FRB because people must realize this is not acceptable behavior and such an outburst comes off almost as a childish tantrum. And Arriola’s uncontrolled temper must be put in the context that he has been thrown out of Miami Heat games because of his verbal actions and even went after three reporters at a Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce luncheon years ago. There he likened CBS investigative reporter Jim DeFede to a large Star Wars character, suggested Miami Herald city beat reporter Michael Vasquez wore make-up and in the case of the Watchdog Report, I had never “held a job in my life,” despite the fact in my past corporate world. I had been stationed in Tokyo, Sydney and spent extensive time in China from 1977 through 1994. DeFede took the camera footage of the luncheon and did a great profile story on the city manager that ended with Arriola screaming at a referee at a Heat game with the reporter concluding this was the “face of Miami” and it was another Miami Moment. Further, the FRB has a Jackson Health System security detail attending the committee and televised board meetings and the security of the administration and board is important. But that same protection must be applied to the public and press attending these public meetings if the law of the jungle is not to be applied to this public institution and administration. >>> Editor’s note: I have no beef with Arriola and initially in the early 2000s we were friends and he sent me a $500 check, but the relationship cooled over the years because of his personality, especially actions in the public arena, which he forgets is a different culture than a privately owned business.

>>> Here is a past WDR: Oct. 2005: Miami Manager Joe Arriola, age 58 continues to be the poster child for inappropriate behavior during public meetings after his performance at the Public Health Trust Nominating Council meeting Monday. The nominating council before Arriola’ interview had been engaged in a serious interview process during the prior four-hours when 10-trustee candidates were thoughtfully questioned and vetted by the nominating council. The five-member council is made up of County Commissioners Rebeca Sosa, Javier Souto, and Bruno Barreiro; state Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Hialeah and Larry Handfield the chair of the health trust. Sosa is the council chair and there are five openings on the 17-member board.

Arriola apparently thought it would be funny and a put down if he touched and mussed the hair of the publisher, age 54 as he walked bye to sit down for his interview. He has done a variation of this derogatory act before. The last time he did it publicly involved David Samson of the Florida Marlins during a county televised press conference concerning a new baseball stadium. After Arriola kept rubbing and patting his head with the cameras rolling. A visible annoyed Samson told him to stop it and he shot back that his height was the size of Arriola’ girth.

Arriola has a history of losing his temper and speaking with no regard to the formality of the forum, which in the nominating council case prior to his interview had been respectful and serious, and while he tried to smack down the Watchdog Report. He embarrassed only himself in a very public meeting. This un-requested contact by a public official has never occurred in all my time watching government and questions whether Arriola has the temperament for a public board given his condescending attitude about the public and press. Further, he apparently lacks an understanding of our society’s social morays.

Also this physical contact is classified as unlawful touching and could be considered a Battery on the press and this is not the only time he has crossed the line of professionalism and respect for people. The Miami manager has a history of losing his temper and verbally treating people poorly including a recent verbal showdown with Miami Commissioner Jeffery L. Allen at a commission meeting and a run in with now deceased Miami Commissioner Arthur Teele, Jr.

In the case of Teele, the commissioner threatened to have the sergeant-at-arms get involved if the manager did not verbally crank it down and show more respect to the elected leaders that he works for at an August 2004 meeting at the Miami Arena. The city manager’s other greatest hits when it comes to losing his temper in a public forum range from a profane outburst during a school board meeting in 2002 where he was on staff for only four months, to an almost threatening verbal exchange directed at the PHT chair Michael Kosnitzky of the Public Health Trust during a meeting in 2002. Commissioner Souto when that exchange occurred actually got up and left the meeting of the health trust during Arriola’ fiery verbal assault. Further, the media has other footage of Arriola confronting people in a hostile or demeaning way in the city hall lobby over the last two and a half years that he has been manager.

Miami Mayor Manuel “Manny” Diaz when asked Wednesday about the manager’s behavior said he would not comment on it, but Diaz minutes later during a press conference for a new development on Watson Island. Diaz joked that he thought Arriola should go to a planned spa for a session before he attended commission meetings. The Watchdog Report asked Miami Commission chair Joe Sanchez Wednesday about the incident with the city manager and he was shocked and was unaware that Arriola had applied to the PHT board. Further, he said, “Arriola should apologize to me” and he would talk to the manager.

Arriola

>>>Meeting announcement: In preparation for the November 28, 2011 Televised PHT FRB meeting please see attached agenda and supporting documents on the Jackson Health System website. As of June 2011, the Public Health Trust Financial Recovery Board committee and board meeting agendas and other supporting documents are now available for download in PDF format on the Jackson Health System’s website accessible at the following link:
https://www.jhsmiami.org/workfiles/wmApps/body..cfm?f_r=publicDocs&f_n=pDindex_PHT.cfm You are reminded that there will be no duplicated agendas available for distribution at the board or committee meetings.

>>> The FRB board meeting televised on the county cable channel is meeting at 3:00 p.m. Monday in the commission chambers and the public should watch these deliberations and see if Arriola has anything to say about the incident and making a possible apology to the public and press. However, he has already gone on some Spanish media outlets verbally blasting The Herald and Dorschner so any contrition on his part is unlikely.

CITY OF MIAMI

>>> Mayor Regalado taps Suarez as commission chair, shocked at Marlins parking garage-paying taxes & Up tick in homeless in downtown Miami

Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado (Net worth $7,500) told the Watchdog Report while he was at the Camillus House Last Feast Celebration at its old location by the torn down Miami Arena on Thursday that he is picking Commissioner Francis Suarez (Net worth $81,131) as the new Miami commission chair for the coming year and he will replace Commission Chair Willy Gort (Net worth $226,000). Suarez, an attorney has settled into the position on the dais since being elected in 2009 and has been a calm voice at times when things got testy during some of the discussions. He is the son of Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Net worth $328,000), who was elected in the spring to county commission District 7 and the son helped his father do campaign fundraising during the past spring, and among political insiders. Francis’ presence helped the former Miami Mayor rehabilitate and overcome some of the obstacles from his past political life in the 1990s to change voter’s hearts and to support him in this new race that had him win after two unsuccessful races in 2001 and 2004.

What about the Marlins stadium property tax issue?

Regalado, who did not support the Global Agreement with the county and financial package created to fund the new Marlins retractable roof stadium, said he was shocked to hear that the city might have to pay property taxes on the four parking garages the city was building adjacent to the ballpark www.miamiherald.com . The county’s Property Appraiser Pedro Garcia, Jr.(Net worth $1.1 million) and his office believe that given the way the deal was structured, that property taxes might be owed from the city and it could be around $1.5 to $2 million per year and would come out of Miami’s general fund. Further, Commissioner Marc Sarnoff (Net worth $2.08 million) in a conversation with former Carnival Cruise CEO Bob Dickinson Thursday at Camillus House when they were discussing the issue. Sarnoff said he had asked then Mayor Manny Diaz and senior county staff about the property tax issue and he said he was assured that the garages would be exempt. He even believes he has a memo on the subject and the meeting but it is clearly another wrinkle in the expensive saga of the new stadium, that when financing is thrown in, comes in costing $2.4 billion over the next decades.

Regalado

Sarnoff

Suarez

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH

>>> Beach activist and attorney Frank Del Vecchio calls for residents to rise up and oppose destination resort gambling

Email from Del Vecchio: Billionaire Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn is trying to squelch Miami Beach opposition to destination casinos by dangling the possibility that he will build a convention/casino complex for us. ["Las Vegas mogul endorses Beach for casino site", Nov. 10 Herald article by Douglas Hanks.] http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/09/2494150/las-vegas-gambling-mogul-eyes.html#storylink=misearch This dangerous flirtation distracts us from the clear and present danger of a massive casino/convention center on the Herald/Omni site. The “Destination Casino” bill pending in the state legislature must be defeated to clear the way for an upgraded Convention Center on the Beach and avoid the nightmare of gridlock on MacArthur and Venetian Causeways. The casino bill can be defeated in the state legislature, but not if residents buy in to Wynn’s game.

Miami Beach knows better than to be taken in by the Las Vegas hard sell and the illusion of easy money. The sooner we scuttle the Destination Casino bill the sooner we can upgrade our convention center, capitalizing on our city s unique concentration of architecture, pedestrian ambience, art, music and dance, climate and beachfront. Casino industry hype is so intense; Miami Beach commissioners need confirmation that residents oppose casinos in Miami-Dade. >>> They will vote on this at their December 14 city commission meeting (item to be heard after 5PM). Opportunities for resident input: Meet with Mayor Bower, 6:30PM Wed., Dec. 7, Botanical Garden – City Commission Workshop, 4PM, Friday, Dec. 9, Convention Center Hall C, Room 134 — Chamber of Commerce “Gaming Forum”, 5:30PM-7:30PM Tuesday, Dec. 13, Convention Center Hall D — City Commission discussion item, after 5PM Wed., Dec. 14, city commission chambers
Residents should e-mail the mayor and commissioners on this matter: MayorBower@miamibeachfl.gov, Deede@miamibeachfl.gov, Ed@miamibeachfl.gov, Jerry@miamibeachfl.gov, Jonah@miamibeachfl.gov, Michael@miamibeachfl.gov, Jorge@miamibeachfl.gov

>>> Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club – Meeting Date: Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 Meeting Time: 8:30 AM Meeting Place: David’s Café II, 1654 Meridian Ave., South Beach — Acting Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez will be presenting the Departments 2011 Staffing Plan at the November 29th meeting of the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club. Chief Martinez will be joined by Captain Mark Causey of the Patrol Division. The plan being presented represented a significant departure from the staffing of the past as it aims to provide more police patrolling and designated regular staffing assignments. There is no charge for attending and everyone is welcome. David Kelsey, Moderator for the Breakfast Club. Visit our web site at www.MBTMBC.com (Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club).

CITY OF CORAL GABLES

>>> City webpage: City To Embark On Ambitious Street Paving Initiative

The City of Coral Gables is resurfacing approximately 30 lane miles of streets throughout Coral Gables at an estimated cost of $3.5 million. This street resurfacing project is part of the Neighborhood Renaissance Program proposed by City Manager Pat Salerno and approved by the City Commission. The list of streets to be resurfaced is equivalent to what would normally be paved in approximately 10 years, which makes this the most ambitious street resurfacing initiative ever undertaken by the City. “We’re on the road to building a better Coral Gables,” said Mayor Jim Cason. To ensure that City streets currently in need of resurfacing are included in this program, the City engaged the engineering firm of C3TS to evaluate and review all streets.

Staff independently reviewed the findings and has compiled a map indicating the streets to be resurfaced. Everyone will benefit from the elimination of the extensive backlog as the City will be able to stay current with street resurfacing needs as they arise. In the future, residents whose streets need resurfacing would not be placed on a waiting list for many years; instead, their streets would be repaved within a year. Phase one will resurface all identified neighborhood streets north of US1. A construction contract is expected to be presented to the City Commission for award early next year. Phase two will resurface all remaining streets for which a construction contract is expected to be presented to the City Commission for approval by next summer. To view a map of the streets to be resurfaced next year, click here. If your neighborhood street is not included in this map and you would like to have it reevaluated for possible resurfacing, please send an email to publicworks@coralgables.com.

CITY OF HOMESTEAD

>>> Wildlife smugglers plead guilty of offering jaguar skins for sale

Press release: Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, E. Matthew Bendele, Acting Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Miami Office, and Dave Hubbard, Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, San Antonio Office, announced today that Elias Garcia Garcia, 53, and Maria Angela Plancarte, 53, both of La Feria, Texas, pled guilty to charges of conspiring to violate the federal Lacey Act by trafficking in the skins of jaguars, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. According to the Indictment, court records, and statements in court, Garcia and Plancarte initially offered several jaguar skins for sale in South Florida in 2008. They later offered to sell jaguar skins to potential customers in person in Texas and by electronic means elsewhere. Additionally, under cover of a plant seed company they jointly operated, the defendants made repeated trips to South Florida, offering to sell jaguar skins to Florida customers. On November 9, 2010, at La Feria, Texas, Garcia and Plancarte sold 2 jaguar pelts to undercover FWS agents for a total price of $3,000 in cash and offered additional sales of up to 10 jaguar skins at a time to the agents. Garcia and Plancarte also admitted to a second sale of jaguar skins to undercover FWS agents in Homestead, Florida, resulting in a payment of $4,000 in cash, representing the purchase price of $3,000 and an additional $1,000 as a deposit against the future sale of up to 10 jaguar skins, to be smuggled into the United States by them from Mexico.

U.S. District Court Judge Joan A. Lenard, who accepted the pleas and adjudicated the defendants guilty, set sentencing for the defendants on March 5, 2012 at 2:30 p.m. Each of the defendants faces a possible term of imprisonment of up to five years and a criminal fine of up to $250,000 on the conspiracy count, as well as a period of supervised release of up to three years. The Endangered Species Act, Title 16, United States Code, Section 1531, et seq., and regulations promulgated thereunder, subject to certain exceptions not relevant in this case, makes it unlawful among other things, to deliver, carry, transport, ship, sell, or offer for sale any species of wildlife, or the dead body or parts thereof, listed under Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 17.11, and thus protected under the Act. The jaguar (Panthera onca) is listed as an “Endangered Species” under the Act, and subject to the prohibitions appearing in Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 17.21.

The Lacey Act, among other things, makes it unlawful for a person to transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase any fish or wildlife, including any jaguar, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law, treaty, or regulation of the Unites States. 16 U.S.C. §3372(a)(1). Mr. Ferrer extended his appreciation to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission for its assistance in this matter, and commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which resulted in the criminal charges in the case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald. >>> A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

>>> OTHER STORIES AROUND FLORIDA

BROWARD COUNTY

>>> Hail Mayor Rodstrom, first elected in 1992 and survived political bloodbath in county recently, has $2.4 million net worth

The Broward commission recently elected John Rodstrom Jr., (net worth $2.4 million) as the body’s new mayor and while it is a ceremonial position. The county mayor for the year gets a lot of television face time, especially in the times of hurricanes and other major weather events. Rodstrom, an investment banker has been in this leadership capacity before and he represents Commission District 7. He was first elected in 1992 and the investment banker is termed out in 2012, but a friend of his is challenging the validity of term limits in the state courts, though the commissioner denies the attorney is acting in his behalf. Over the years, one of his achievements was getting a new runway for the county’s airport that had near by homeowners up in arms for years. And when he worked for Wachovia Bank, he was seen at many Miami-Dade Commission meetings as well as the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority when selling the organization’s bonds for the bank.

Rodstrom http://www.broward.org/Commission/District7/Pages/Default.aspx

>>> Thank you for using the Broward County Commission Agenda E-mail Notification System. A new Broward County Commission Agenda is available. Point your browser to http://www.broward.org/commission/welcome.htm to view the new agenda.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

>>> West Palm Beach sellers of unnecessary septic tank products plead guilty to wire fraud

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Arthur A. Elkins, Jr., Inspector General, United States Environmental Protection Agency – Office of Inspector General (EPA-OIG), announced defendants Mary Moore, 54, Joseph Nouerand, 52, and Christopher Lincoln, 46, all residents of Pam Beach County, pled guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentencing has been scheduled for February 10, 2012, before U.S. District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp. According to court documents and statements at the hearing, Moore, Nouerand and Lincoln, in concert with other employees of FBK Products, LLC., knowingly participated in a scheme to fraudulently market and sell an unnecessary and unneeded septic treatment product to residents of various states across the country.

During the plea, the defendants admitted to participating in a scheme beginning from March 12, 2009 through October 2010. Using the name FBK and Septic Remedy, the defendants and their employees made sales pitches to possible customers in various states that misled them into believing that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were affiliated with the septic treatment product that the defendants were marketing telephonically under the name Septic Remedy. As a further part of the scheme, the defendants and others fraudulently misled residents into believing that Septic Remedy would eliminate the need for having their septic tank pumped; that government regulations had changed the components of toilet paper; and that the version of Septic Remedy being marketed by the defendants was a second generation product, reformulated to work on allegedly new toilet papers. Through this scheme, some elderly customers were defrauded into purchasing more than seventy years worth of toilet paper. The fraud was valued at approximately $1,000,000. Mr. Ferrer commended the EPA-OIG for their work on this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman O. Hemming, III. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

DELRAY BEACH

>>> Press release: Smuggler of Aliens gets 102 months in the federal Big House

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, Randy Donnelson, Director of Air Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami Field Office, Rear Admiral William D. Baumgartner, Commander, 7th Coast Guard District, Vernon Foret, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Miami Field Office, and Matthew Zetts, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol, announced the sentencing of defendant Judith Moody, 59, a.k.a. Sandra Anderson, Olivia Marie Williams, Mamie Ann McKenzie, Devra Flowers, Judy Ann Jackson, Kendrick Bernard Fuller, and Audrey Patrice Winkfield. Senior United States District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp sentenced Moody to 102 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.

On May 25, 2011, Moody pled guilty to three counts of alien smuggling for profit, in violation of Title 8 U.S.C. 1324 (a) (2) (B) (ii), and one count of aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. 1028A (a)(1). As part of her plea, Moody signed a written proffer in which she admitted that on or about October 11, 2010, she was aboard Le Superior, a 35′ U.S. registered Bertram sportfish vessel, when it was intercepted by the Coast Guard approximately 32 nautical miles east of Delray Beach, Florida. Moody and co-conspirator Jesus Saavedra were attempting to bring 31 aliens into the United States for profit. These migrants were nationals from various countries, including Haiti, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and Jamaica. Seven of the migrants had been previously deported from the United States, and three had been deported subsequent to convictions for aggravated felonies. Moody also admitted that she falsely identified herself to the Coast Guard and ICE agents as Sandra Anderson and produced a birth certificate with that name to support a false claim of United States citizenship.

In addition to Moody, co-defendant Jesus Saavedra pled guilty to one count of alien smuggling for profit, in violation of Title 8 U.S.C. 1324 (a) (2) (B) (ii), and, on February 25, 2011, was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Three of the migrants pled guilty to aggravated re-entry, in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. 1326(a) and (b)(2): Michael Nigel Nobel; George Everton McDonald; and Kesrick Bandoo. All were sentenced to time served, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ICE-HSI, the USCG, CBP’s Office of Field Operations, Office of Air and Marine, and the U.S. Border Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Evans and Carolyn Bell. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY

>>> Company that sells seafood and its president sentenced for the mislabeling of shrimp

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Otha Easley, Acting Special Agent in Charge, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), announced yesterday’s sentencing of defendants Adrian Vela, 76, and Sea Food Center, LLC., both of Tampa, Florida, on charges that they conspired to mislabel shrimp. The two had previously pled guilty to a nine-count Criminal Information, which charged them with conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act. U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard sentenced Vela to three (3) years of probation. Sea Food Center was sentenced to one year of probation, a $15,000 fine and $1,200 special assessment. United was previously sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro on July 27, 2011. According to documents filed with the court and statements made during Vela’s guilty plea, Vela engaged in a scheme from June 2008 through June 2009, in which he and Sea Food Center oversaw the false labeling of less marketable substituted seafood product, “Shrimp, Product of Thailand,” “Shrimp, Product of Malaysia,” and “Shrimp, Product of Indonesia,” which was misbranded, marketed, and intended to be marketed as “Shrimp, Product of Panama.” This conspiracy involved more than 500,000 pounds of shrimp, with a retail value of between $400,000 and $750,000.

The mislabeling of foods such as fish and shrimp is prohibited by the federal Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(1) and 3372(d)(2), and the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), 21 U.S.C. § 331. The Lacey Act, in pertinent part, makes it unlawful for a person to falsely identify any fish which has been, or is intended to be, imported, sold, purchased, or received from any foreign country or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. The FDCA, in pertinent part, prohibits the alteration or removal of the whole or any part of the labeling of food, if such act is done while such article is held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce. >>> Mr. Ferrer commended the NOAA-OLE for its thorough investigative efforts. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman O. Hemming, III. A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

HARDEE COUNTY

>>> Press release: Gov. Scott taps Frederick “Rick” Knight as new county commissioner.

Knight, 64, of Wauchula, has been a real estate broker since 1979 and serves on the Wauchula City Commission as Mayor. He has also served on the Hardee County Fire Assessment Board since 2010. Knight served on the Hardee County Economic Development Council from 2006 to 2011 and on the board of directors for the Community Health Purchasing Alliance in 2000. He previously served as a Wauchula City Commissioner in the 1980s. Knight will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Terry Atchley and is appointed for a term beginning November 22, 2011, and ending November 19, 2012.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

>>> Press release: Stemberger to Debate Casino Leaders at Fort Lauderdale / Broward Chamber of Commerce Forum on Gambling

On Tuesday morning, November 29, 2011, from 7:30am to 9:30am at the Westin Cypress Creek Hotel, 400 Corporate Drive in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a debate forum will be held on the current legislative proposal to expand casinos in Florida. Orlando attorney John Stemberger, the President of the Florida Family Policy Council will be the sole anti-gambling voice on the five-person panel, which is being sponsored by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. The forum will also feature some of the top advocates for the Casino Industry including State Senator Elyn Bogdanoff, the sponsor of the Florida Casino bill; Dan Adkins, President of the Marti Gras Casino; Bob Wyre, General Manager of Isle Casino and Racin; and Nick Larossi, Lobbyist for Los Vegas Sands. The debate will be moderated by the Editor of the Sun Sentinel Newspaper, Antonio Fins. Thirty minutes will be set aside for questions from the audience during the forum. Other co-sponsors of the forum on gaming include the Miramar/ Pembroke Pines Chamber of Commerce, Tamarac Chamber of Commerce, Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, Greater Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Broward County Council on Chambers. >>> Tickets to the breakfast event are $30.00 per person and can be purchased online at the Fort Lauderdale Chamber website www.ftlchamber.com/gaming or by contacting Heather House at 954.462.4976 or heather@ftlchamber.com. Registration closes at noon on Monday November 28, 2011.

>>> Press release: Driving Fore a Cause 1972 Undefeated Dolphin Hall-of-Famers Support Virginia Key Beach Park Trust
NFL Pro Hall-of-Famer Larry Little is lending support with his undefeated Miami Dolphin team by hosting the 5th Annual Larry Little Legends Golf Classic at the Inverrary Country Club located at 3840 Inverrary Blvd, Lauderhill, FL 33319 on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 8:30am. All proceeds from the tournament will benefit the restoration, operation and capital improvement projects at the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park (HVKBP). The Inverrary Country Club features an 18-hole “West” course highlighting its 6,621 yards of golf on beautiful Bermuda grass and has hosted several PGA and LPGA events. Sponsored by the Calder Casino & Race Course, the 2011 Larry Little Legends Golf Classic will launch a two-day event with a V.I.P. Cocktail Party on the evening of Thursday, December 1st at the Calder Casino & Race Course, 21001 NW 27th Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL 33056.

Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on appealing auction items and engage in an enjoyable meet & greet with celebrity Hall of Fame golfers like Bobby Bell, Ted Hendricks, Dwight Stevenson, Leroy Kelly and Ricky Jackson, members of the 1972 undefeated Dolphin team and an array of influential guests. “Over the years, I’ve realized how exceptional and important it is to give to the community. Being the spokesperson for Virginia Key Beach Park Trust allows me to lend my support and efforts to this historical jewel, hopefully inspiring change and unity. In addition to what the Trust has done to preserve history, I call on fellow community leaders both in sports and other arenas to assist in supporting and uplifting the beautiful nature and value of Historic Virginia Key Beach Park. It really is a wonderful cause,” says Larry Little. Participants will begin the second day with a pre-event breakfast followed by warm-ups beside the driving range. At the ‘shot-gun’ opening, golfers will be paired with famous sports figures where they will then begin to compete. Post-competition events will feature an awards banquet and prizes, with all proceeds benefiting the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust.
Additional sponsors include the Miami Dolphins, American Airlines, The Produce Connection, Warren Henry, Ryder System, Bacardi, Five Brothers Produce, Community Bank of Florida, Publix, S&L Beans, Miami-Dade Fair, Miami-Dade County and Mercedes Benz. >>> For further information about the Larry Little Legends Golf Classic or sponsorships contact Ingrid Stuart, at 954.867.6511 or email at istuart@miamigov.com For more information on Virginia Key Beach Trust or media inquiries, contact Kechi Okpala at 305.960.4618 or email at KOkpala@miamigov.com. Visit our website at www.virginiakeybeachpark.net.

>>> Press release: The Coconut Grove Rotary Club Presents – THE GREAT GROVE TREASURE HUNT!

The search for fun and treasure in the Grove is Saturday, December 10th and starts at the SANDBAR SPORTS GRILL, 3064 Grand Avenue. Register between 11:30am and 1pm and join your mates and other scallywags with $10 Bottomless Bloody-Mary’s or Mimosas and two fabulous breakfasts for just the price of one. You’ll be given a treasure map leading you on a Grove Treasure Hunt for fun, great grog and great treats, plus treasure tickets for dozens of fabulous raffle prizes. Then from 5 to 8 join the “Grab-Some-More-Booty-Party” at MR. MOE’S, 3131 Commodore Plaza. While we replay the day, you’ll get Grub ‘n’ Grog specials, live music and the big drawing for all the loot! The cost is just $25 at the door or $20 in advance at coconutgrovetreasurehunt.eventbrite.com with all proceeds going to The Rotary Club of Coconut Grove Foundation to help our Coconut Grove neighbors.
For more information call Kelly Smith @ 305-302-9342

>>> JUST ANNOUNCED! ONE NIGHT ONLY! – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County proudly presents LONG-REIGNING
“KING OF THE BLUES” B.B. KING — “No. 3 of the Top 100 Guitarists of All Time!” – Rolling Stone As part of the 2011-2012 Knight Masterworks Season Pops Series – January 4, 2012 at 8 p.m., Tickets Starting at $49 John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall

American blues legend B.B. KING, who has played to sold-out audiences at major concert halls, festivals, and stadiums in 90 countries around the globe, brings his signature mix of expressive singing, sinuous riffs and distinctive guitar sound to the Arsht Center’s John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall on January 4, 2012 at 8 p.m. Widely regarded as the most influential and renowned blues artist of the past half century, the ever-popular “king of the blues” is more relevant than ever as he continues to define the blues for a worldwide audience. B.B. KING makes his Arsht Center debut with this performance, which is the second concert of the 2011-2012 Knight Masterworks Season Pops Series.
KING is known for his crowd-pleasing showmanship, performed on his trademark Gibson guitar “Lucille,” and his ability to create an intimate concert experience at every show. The program will include a selection of traditional blues and original songs by the blues patriarch. >> Tickets start at $49 and may be purchased through the Adrienne Arsht Center box office by calling (305) 949-6722, or online at www.arshtcenter.org. Tickets go on sale to members on November 14, and to the public on November 21. “The sounds of King’s guitar distinguish him as the one and only B.B. Forever he will be the giant of jazz blues that we all love,” said M. John Richard, president and CEO of the Adrienne Arsht Center. “We are thrilled to present this concert as part of our Knight Masterworks Season Pops Series which showcases the best talent in American popular music.” American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter B.B. KING is widely regarded as one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time, inspiring countless other electric blues and blues-rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Throughout his long and illustrious career, he has maintained a highly visible and active touring schedule, performing at every major venue and music festival around the globe, averaging 250 concerts a year. In the late 1980s, he reached a new generation of fans with the single “When Love Comes to Town,” a collaborative effort with U2, and again when he teamed up with guitarist Eric Clapton to record “Riding with the King.” His numerous accolades include 15 Grammys, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the NARAS Lifetime Achievement Award. KING was ranked No. 3 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

EDITORIALS

>>> Members of Congress insider trading examined by CBS 60 Minutes has created a firestorm with the public

The revelation that members of Congress are able to do essentially insider trading in the stock market making them millions disclosed in a CBS 60 Minutes story recently has shaken the body and the Republic to its core and that should be the case, given the exceptions the Congress has carved out and established for their own members. Since the story broke, I have had more people come up and say they were “disgusted” and livid that lawmakers can legally flaunt the activity with a straight face. The Congress’s reputation was in the tank before this revelation but the backlash is rising with the public and more and more people from both political parties are saying all these elected leaders should be taken out, or at the minimum, reform this loophole. The U.S. Representatives and Senators claim since they are dealing with public tax dollars that this is not a conflict, but whom are they kidding when federal legislation can move an industry or company, either with a economic shot in the arm or destroy it with the sword of Damocles of business funding or regulation death.

For while leaders are constantly carping about how bad the national economy is they are insulated from much of this pain as they proceed to feather their fiscal nest, maybe only a million of dollars at a time, sometimes more, but it is unseemly and is a corrosive aspect of our culture and public institutions. And here in Miami different variations on these themes are manifested in a variety of ways and can be summed up when two local brothers were sentenced and had a federal judge concluding after the defense attorney argued his clients had paid 60 percent of their taxes and should get less of a sentence. “Only in South Florida is stopping at a red light or paying all your taxes an aspirational act,” said federal District Court Judge Patricia Seitz during the sentencing of Carlos and Jorge de Cespedes for engaging in 14-years of Medicare fraud. And while what Congress is doing is legal so there is a difference, if lawmakers are smart given the mood of the country’s voters. They should end this practice for taxpayers are looking for ending political careers when they go to the polls like never before and as this information gets out to the nation since it so widespread across party lines, to say voters will be angry is a major understatement.

LETTERS

>>> Reader on Miami-Dade Commissioner Suarez’s statement about his public schools teacher wife retirement benefits last week

If Commissioner Suarez’s wife worked for the School Board for 30 years and her average salary during her best five years was $41,000 then her monthly pension check would be $1,640, almost $1,000 per month more than the figure he used. ($41,000 x 48% (1.6% for each full year of service) = $19,680 per year = $1,640 per month).

>>> LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & INITIAL SPONSORS IN 2000

ANGEL ESPINOSA – (Deceased) owner COCONUT GROVE DRY CLEANER’S
HUGH CULVERHOUSE, Jr.
THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2008)
ARTHUR HERTZ
WILLIAM HUGGETT, Seamen Attorney (Deceased)
ALFRED NOVAK
LINDA E. RICKER (Deceased)
JOHN S. and JAMES L. KNIGHT FOUNDATION www.knightfoundation.org
THE HONORABLE STANLEY G. TATE

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $2,000 a year

FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT www.fpl.com
RONALD HALL
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.unitedwaymiamidade.org

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 a year

AKERMAN SENTERFITT www.akerman.com
RON BOOK
LEWIS TEIN www.lewistein.com
LINDA MURPHY: Gave a new laptop in Oct. 2001 to keep me going.
WILLIAM PALMER
SHUBIN & BASS www.shubinbass.com

>>> Public, Educational & Social institutions – subscribers at $1,000 or less

CAMILLUS HOUSE, INC. www.camillushouse.org
CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.
CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.cph.org
THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov
GREATOR MIAMI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE www.miamichamber.com
GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU www.miamiandbeaches.com
HEALTH FOUNDATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA www.hfsf.org
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov
MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschoolsnews.net
PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST & JACKSON HEALTH SYSTEM www.jhsmiami.org
THE BEACON COUNCIL www.beaconcouncil.com
THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org
THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY LEAGUE OF CITIES www.mdclc.org
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA http://www.firstgov.gov/
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI www.miami.edu

The Watchdog Report covers a few of the meetings attended weekly. It remains my belief that an informed public will make better decisions. Therefore, I go to meetings, make the presence of an informed citizen known, and bring the information to you. The Watchdog Report is in the fourth year of publication and it has been an honor to be able to send this information to you. It is sent to readers in Miami-Dade, Florida, the U.S. and the world. The Watchdog Report is sent to thousands free and while readers have been prodded to subscribe the results have been mixed. Over 550 reports and Extra’s have been sent since May 5, 2000 and over one million words have been written on our community’s governments and events. The report is an original work based on information gathered at public meetings, interviews and from documents in the public domain.

LETTER POLICY

I welcome letters via e-mail, fax, or snail mail. Letters may be edited for length or clarity and must refer to material published in the Watchdog Report. Please see address and contact information. Please send any additions and corrections by e-mail, fax or snail mail. All corrections will be published in the next Watchdog Report. If you or your organization would like to publish the contents of this newsletter, please contact me. Please send your request to watchdogreport1@earthlink.net

Daniel A. Ricker
Publisher & Editor
Watchdog Report
Est. 05.05.00
Copyright © of original material, 2011, Daniel A. Ricker

>>> The Watchdog Report are now available to television stations web pages, and all the newspapers and other media in South Florida if the publishers have an interest to run part or all of the stories. Further, in 2000, I used to have some paper’s running the report in the Spanish press, that option is available again, and publishers should contact me. The news content will not be free, but you can pick and chose the stories of interest, edit them if necessary but you must still keep the general story intact. If you are a news outlet and would like to learn more about, the Watchdog Report and this offer contact me at watchdogreport1@earthlink.net for further information.

>>> Here is what past newspapers have written about the Watchdog Report publisher including a survey and regional study done by the U. North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the media in the southeast United States.

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. >>> Published on September 9, 1999, Page 1EA, Miami Herald, The (FL) CITIZEN ADVOCATE’ KEEPS TABS ON POLITICIANS >>> Published on January 3, 2000, Page 1B, Miami Herald, The (FL) MIAMI-DADE WATCHDOG WILL BE MISSED >>> >>> To read the full section large two page front page story, but without the photos and smart box graphics, go to: `I Go When You Cannot’ – Sun Sentinel 20 Jan 2003 … Sometimes Dan Ricker lives in the dark so others may live in the light. … to his weekly Watchdog Report have finally mailed their checks. … http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-01-20/news/0301190341_1_ricker-school-board-president-miami-s-first-cuban-american >>>Watchdog Report publisher named ‘Best Citizen’ 2003 by the Miami New Times –The publisher would like to thank the weekly alternative paper Miami New Times for bestowing their 2003 Best of Miami, ‘Best Citizen’ award to me and I am honored. Thank you. To read the full story go to http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2003-05-15/citylife2.html/1/index.html

From the spring of 2003: U. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Southeast U.S. Media Report lists Watchdog Report publisher as leading Florida commentator >>> Selected excerpts from the report on Florida’s media sources

Those who do read the newspaper in Florida have a bevy of options for state government and political coverage. The dominant newspapers in the state are Knight-Ridder’s The Miami Herald (Acquired by The McClatchy Company in 2006) and the Poynter Institute’s St. Petersburg Times. Both papers endorsed Gore in 2000 but split on the 2002 gubernatorial race, with the Herald endorsing Republican incumbent Jeb Bush and the Times backing Democratic challenger Bill McBride. Daniel Ricker of The Miami Herald also writes an influential column as well as an email newsletter called the Watchdog Report that goes out to more than 100,000 subscribers. FEBRUARY 2004 – Florida: Columnists in Abundance –ERIC GAUTSCHI, graduate student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, UNC-Chapel Hill – D) LEADING COMMENTATORS – Resource Commentator Organization Type Web site –Steve Bousquet St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/bousquet.shtml -“First Friday” WPBT TV (Miami) TV Show www.channel2.org/firstfriday/issues.html –Lucy Morgan St. Petersburg Times Column www.sptimes.com/columns/morgan.shtml –Daniel Ricker Miami Herald/Watchdog Report Newsletter >>> Readers who would like to read the complete University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Southeast United States Media Report go to view the complete report or download all the data used in this study. >>> Watchdog Report Editor’s note to the NCU/CH study: The subscriber number referenced is incorrect and applies to readership.

General subscriber’s names will not be published in the Report. To subscribe to the Watchdog Report please use the form below as a subscription invoice.
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