Archive for December 2022

 
 

Watchdog Report Vol.22 No.47 December 4, 2022-EST:05.05.00 – I go when you cannot – a free community education resource

WATCHDOG REPORT

DRicker

Miami-Dade, Fla.

Vol.22 No 47, December 4, 2022, Celebrating 22 -years of free weekly publishing! www.watchdogreport.net  & Former Miami Herald news & editorial columnist. 05.05.00, I go when you cannot, for almost 22-years & a trusted community education resource & news service, without the attitude

 

>>> Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics will not take an interest in you. –Pericles (430 B.C.)

 

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ARGUS REPORT:

 

>>> Cardiac EKG screening should be required by state, number one killer of young athletes in schools, highlighted at school board Wednesday.

>>>I will return next week, I’m sick and hope to feel better next week.

 

FLORIDA: The Florida Ethics Commission has $799,569.in ethics fines unpaid and the list is a cross section of people on state boards.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: Gov. Ron De. Santos taps Robert Gonzalez to fill county commission district 11,replacing Joe Martinez suspended by the governor

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS: The board’s student advisor Ms. Cori Anna White with a unique perspective made some saliant comments recently when the schools code of conduct was being discussed. With all the mass shootings she noted “student safety was paramount regardless of zip codes. She inquired about the role of “threat assessment teams,” and “reporting lines,” and their role “in identifying patterns of behavior,’ of students.-  Chair Hantman & Perez saying sayonara, after decades helped to stabilize rocky public district plagued by scandals

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST: Oct. JHS financial dashboard: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/jacksonhealth/b071ed27-6113-11ed-95a3-0050569183fa-6872cee3-98a7-4865-85f1-4b68344022ed-1669154377.pdf

CITY OF MIAMI: Will Commissioner Ken Russell, be allowed to have last meeting in

December as two commissioners say no? clerk working to get it on, Reyes in, Chair 

King unknown: she needs support from Carollo and Diaz de la Portilla for Virginia Key 

trust, likely no December meeting requested, by Russell, no decision yet candidates’ 

line-up to replace him, after Jan.3 when he resigns after losing the Democratic Party 

primary to Taddeo.

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ARGUS Heard & Seen on the Street

 

>>> Cardiac EKG screening should be required by state, number one killer of young athletes in schools, highlighted at school board Wednesday

Student Athletes dying from sudden cardiac death, was highlighted at Wednesday’s school board meeting. Sudden death is common with athletes and the need for a EKG screening is important. And advocates say screening should be mandatory. And Florida has nine districts that have this screening requirement before entering school. Further, some parents are hesitant to screen, and just have to be notified, said advocates including a girl with an implantable defibrillator. For more go to: https://nzdsos.com/2022/09/09/unexplained-coincidental-collateral-damage/ 

 

FLORIDA

 

>>> Is Florida changing its political stripes, Christ was a flawed candidate with too much political luggage & chameleon

 

With governor Ron De Santos easily defeating Charlie Crist a democrat and Sen. Marco Rubio defeating Val Demings. Florida is no longer a swing state that even touched normally Democratic Miami-Dade County and the election over here in Miami-Dade candidates will emerge to run for all the new state voters approved creating a sheriff, tax collector. 

 

>>> The Florida Ethics Commission has $799,569.in ethics fines unpaid and the list is a cross section of people on state boards and to see the list go to:

https://www.ethics.state.fl.us/Documents/Ethics/FinancialDisclosure/Fines%20placed%20with%20Collections.pdf?cp=20221116 

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

 

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 

The board’s student advisor Ms. Cori Anna White with a unique perspective made some saliant comments recently when the schools code of conduct was being discussed. With all the mass shootings she noted “student safety was paramount regardless of zip codes. She inquired about the role of “threat assessment teams,” and “reporting lines,” and their role “in identifying patterns of behavior,’ of students.

 

Dr.Steven Gallon, III, a former principal overseeing 3,200 students said the goal was not “to suffer situations that take away opportunities to educate. He said, “parents send the best students they have and the district policy was going to be applied with “firmness and equity,” noting a large public school “is one of the most challenging education jobs there is said the veteran teacher

>>> Chair Hantman & Perez saying sayonara, after decades helped to stabilize rocky public district plagued by scandals

 

Two iconic board members are leaving after serving since 1996. Perla Tabares Hantman and Dr. Marta Perez, also an attorney since joining the board and was an advocate for a ethics committee chaired at one time by judge Kogan. She also pushed for the inspector general at the district. Hantman the chair most of her years was calm did things by the book after scandals rocked the district. Further, there was a state oversight board. Both women were very supportive of the WDR over the years, and they will be missed on the nine-member school board.

 

Retired Florida Supreme Court Judge Gerald Kogan was honored posthumously by the school board Wednesday. The jurist was the point of the spear after the Miami-Dade Chamber created the Alliance for ethical government after scandals and arrests at the county and bogus land deals at the public district, where matchbox degrees were prevalent, and the community outrage was palpable and confidence in government was abysmal. Editor’s note: I was at many meetings with Kogan, and he helped convince me that I should keep at my efforts and had a card, which read “Citizen Advocate for Ethical Government.”

 

PUBLIC HEALTH TRUST

 

>>> Oct financial dashboard: https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/jacksonhealth/b071ed27-6113-11ed-95a3-0050569183fa-6872cee3-98a7-4865-85f1-4b68344022ed-1669154377.pdf

 

CITY OF MIAMI 

 

>>> Will Commissioner Ken Russell, be allowed to have last meeting in December as two commissioners say no? clerk working to get it on, Reyes in, Chair King unknown

 

The cancellation of Decembers commission meeting had leaving commissioner Ken Russell walk off the dais since his last meeting in December was being cancelled because commissioners Joe Carollo, and Alex Diaz de la Portilla, wanted to spend time with family over the holidays a first. Russell is trying to get three commissioners to agree to have the December meeting that commissioner Manolo Reyes has agreed to and just chair Christine King must agree. Russell has projects he wants to finish before leaving the body and the commissioners who often take shots at Russell 

 

SPONSORS:

 
>>> And to support the WDR go to my Pay Pal account that is easy to use and right now would be a great time: http://paypal.me/WatchdogReport    
 

 

Further, if you would rather send a check send it made out to Daniel Ricker and mail it to 3109 Grand Ave., #125 Miami, Fla. 33133.  Thank you, Dan  

>>> And having a member of the press at public meetings gives teeth to the Florida Sunshine Law (and why you get a Flu Shot) and open meetings tape recorded keeps good governance in place and reduces waste fraud and abuse, and public corruption, and is why you don’t speed in front of a state trooper for example. And hope you can support the WDR efforts to have informed residents to public institutions issues, in our community.

>>> Further the www.watchdogreport.net  in South Florida is an established news service presence, because most people are too busy to go to these important meetings., and all the information comes through me as a central point allowing me to see things at a 100-mile altitude and being an early warning system when projects have overruns or other issues. But my job is to sound the alarm and I have done so many times over the past years in a host of ways.  

 

Publisher’s Statement on the mission of the Watchdog Report and the special people and organizations that make it possible:  Government Subscribers/Corporate Subscribers/Sustaining Sponsors/Supporting Sponsors

 

Daniel A. Ricker

Publisher & Editor

Watchdog Report 

Est. 05.05.00

Copyright © of original material, 2022, Daniel A. Ricker

 

***** LIFETIME FOUNDING MEMBERS & Initial sponsors since 2000

 

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THE MIAMI HERALD www.miamiherald.com (2000-2007)

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

 

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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY www.miamidade.gov

UNITED WAY OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY   

 

>>> Watchdog Report supporters – $1,000 to $5,000 a year

 

BADIA SPICES www.badiaspices.com 

BERKOWITZ POLLACK BRANT Advisors and Accountants www.bpbcpa.com

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

 

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CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com

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CHAPMAN PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.chapmanpartnership.org

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THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov

GREATER 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 COMMISSION www.miamidade.gov

MIAMI-DADE COMMISSION OFFICE OF THE CHAIR www.miamidade.gov

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ETHICS & PUBLIC TRUST COMMISSION

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY HOMELESS TRUST: www.miamidade.gov/homeless/

MIAMI-DADE COLLEGE www.mdc.edu

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY INSPECTOR GENERAL www.miamidade.gov/ig

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD www.dadeschools.net

MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPT. http://superintendent.dadeschools.net/

MIAMI DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY www.miamidda.com

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

THE CHILDREN’S TRUST www.thechildrenstrust.org

THE GOOD GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE http://goodgov.net/

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

THE MIAMI FOUNDATION www.miamifoundation.org

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

 

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

CITY OF MIAMI www.miamigov.com.

CITY OF CORAL GABLES www.coralgables.com

CHAPMAN PARTNERSHIP FOR HOMELESS www.chapmanpartnership.org

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY www.fiu.edu

THE STATE OF FLORIDA www.myflorida.gov

 

>>> The Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel & Sun-Sentinel articles on the Watchdog Report publisher over the years. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2003-01-20-0301190341-story.html 

 

Published on January 20, 2003, Page 1E, Orlando Sentinel, PAPERWORK TIGER, Miami’s citizen watchdog piles up government files in his quest to keep the “little people” informed. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2003-01-20-0301190341-story.html 

 

>>>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/best-of/2003/people-and-places/best-citizen-6399517 

 

Publisher’s Statement on the mission of the Watchdog Report and the special people and organizations that make it possible:  Government Subscribers/Corporate Subscribers/Sustaining Sponsors/Supporting Sponsors

 

>>> 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 

 

Published on January 20, 2003, Page 1E, Orlando Sentinel, PAPERWORK TIGER, Miami’s citizen watchdog piles up government files in his quest to keep the “little people” informed. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2003-01-20-0301190045-story.html 

>>> 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/best-of/2003/people-and-places/best-citizen-6399517 

 

>>>>> 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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To contribute to the WDR send and make it payable to

 

Daniel A. Ricker

3109 Grand Ave.#125

Miami, Fla.33133

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