Developers Pay For Traffic Studies? The Corrupt Sham and Shame of It. Guest Blog by Stuckintraffic

The reality of traffic studies: You can make the numbers work for whomever is paying you and it is almost always the developer.

There is corruption rampant in Traffic Impact Studies. I had trouble sleeping last night because I was planning on writing this. So, here are a few words. There was a time even not too long ago when I was naive enough to believe that the system could be fixed:

A basic life lesson that we learned at an early age (or, that most of us learned) is that we have to clean up after ourselves, that we must “mitigate” problems caused by our actions. Supposedly, developers are required to mitigate the impact that their developments have on the traffic infrastructure by either improving the infrastructure or paying for needed improvements to the infrastructure.

This is widely accepted and universally addressed in Comprehensive Plans at the municipal, county, and state levels. Governmental agencies require the submission of a Traffic Impact Study before approving any development. And, these studies must show that the impact of a proposed development does not degrade the Level of Service (LOS) below minimum levels.

It all sounds great, doesn’t it?

But in truth, its all a sham, an imposture, a fraud. The system has been corrupted.

The legislatures – municipal, county, and state - have abdicated to the developers the responsibility and the right to perform these impact studies, and the right to choose the method of measuring LOS. So, the developers choose a methodology that grossly misrepresents LOS on roadways that are already severely congested. (In fact, the State of Florida actually recommends this inaccurate method – the count based methodology - in their “QLOS Handbook”.)

So, no matter how congested a roadway is, the developer’s impact study shows that the LOS is acceptable, even with the additional traffic that their development will generate. And, municipalities must, as required by their own laws, and by both county and state laws, accept this bullshit and approve the development.

So, traffic continues to get worse and worse.

The truth of these statements is obvious to anyone that drives on the roadways anywhere in the state of Florida.

The system is corrupt – top to bottom.

How did this happen?

The developers are major campaign donors for candidates running for public office.  In fact, many of our elected officials are actually developers themselves. As a result of their money, the developers have corrupted and now control the legislature.

It is so bad, even the traffic study perpetrators "experts" can be found on the campaign donor lists.

And traffic engineers know what side of the bread is buttered. They know that if they generate a study that shows impact, they will be blacklisted – they will never work for a developer again. And those traffic engineers that work (or contract) for a governmental agency know that if they object to blatantly dishonest traffic studies, they will never get a plum job with a traffic engineering company. And realistically, even if they did object to a dishonest study, the study will be upheld in the courts because to allow use of blatantly dishonest studies is written into law. So, engineers issue blatantly dishonest studies and professional opinions in violation of their professional code of ethics.

Both our government and professional engineering in the state of Florida have been corrupted by developers’ money. This sham really sucks and I am stuck in traffic daily because of it.

Join with Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and County Commissioner Levine Cava (our host) for Traffic Solutions Summit - This Saturday, 9 AM to Noon, Cutler Bay Town Hall, Penthouse, 10720 Caribbean Blvd. Space is limited - register here.

(Geniusofdespair - we wrote about this in 2015 even posting a picture of the Traffic Engineer most popular with developers.)

Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami Beach is a Hell Hole? By Geniusofdespair

One only has to go to the very poorly run Welcome Center at the facility. It is ugly and old too. Yes you might run into Tibor Hollo there as I did, but then he gets to go ahead of you so he is long gone before you are.  They actually changed my sign-in time there to let their friend go ahead of me. I hope it was worth it lady because it got your hospital this blog. What a bunch of cheaters.

I have been going to Mount Sinai Miami Beach since 1992 and now I just can't take it anymore. The Breast Center is good, Dr. Rosen is good (ran into Roy Black in his waiting room), and a few others. But this facility has gone downhill so far it would be hard for there to be a comeback. I stayed in the hospital once and they put me in with a screaming crazy woman who accused me of stealing her phone charger. Just what you need, more stress in a hospital.

 I already switched a few of my doctors to Baptist.

Jay Phillip Parker CEO of Douglas Elliman, President of Mount Sinai Medical Center Foundation. I hope they put up a big plaque for him in the hallway near the cafeteria.

I am switching all of my doctors (except my GYN)  to the far superior Baptist and U. of M. Facilities. They are nicer to their patients, they care. They smile.  My husband loves Doctors hospital. He just had a rotator cuff operation. That facility is not as depressing as the aging Mount Sinai.  And when you give money to Mount Sinai you get a useless plaque in the hall. They don't do much good with the money.

Try complaining to someone at Mount Sinai Miami Beach, no one will listen. There is no one to complain to. Maybe this Blog with almost 8,000,000 hits can make some noise for the voiceless that have suffered some indignity at Mount Sinai Miami Beach.

If you like the place, do tell why in comments. But my opinion is Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach SUCKS.

No plaque for you Mr. Steven D. Sonenreich CEO Of Mount Sinai Medical Center. Spend the Day in your Damn Welcome Center.

I hate the word Resiliency. By Geniusofdespair

It is that kind of day, sunny, hot and hateful.

Miami Beach Mayor in the Miami Herald:

"Create a resiliency commission, to be chaired by a chief resiliency officer, appointed by the governor."  (What he means: What the fuck are we going to do about Climate Change flooding already happening in Miami Beach?)

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article174524226.html#storylink=cpy

There are certain words and phrases that make me want to scream because they are repeated ad nauseam. People say them over and over and over and then nitwits start to believe them and repeat them (sometimes not even knowing why or what the words mean).

Crooked Hillary - Fuck that one but Crooked Trump uses it on twitter all the time...STILL. It isn't even clever Donald.
Resiliency - Code word Democrats thought up because Republicans don't like Climate Change. Call it what it is.
Rocket Man - Please let this one die quickly. I am afraid that your president likes it now, so we will be hearing it ALL THE TIME.
Memes - Started by neo nazi, naming the little jokes in their light-hearted twitter campaigns of hate and evil. The word is now embraced by the media. Let it die everyone.
ANTIFA - Stop. This is so gang like.
Perfect and No Worries - over use. Not really bad, just super annoying now.
Fake News - Should be called Fox News.
Alt Right - Nazis and racists thought it up. To rebrand white supremacists/Neo Nazi's so they sound better to the masses.
Mainstream Media - hate the term.
Obamacare - this one is probably the worst, started by pubs and embraced by dems. If it was called the Affordable Care Act, they wouldn't be so big on repealing it. Any reminder of the Black President has to go. Republicans are determined to erase him from history.

Sept. 22 ---Get over her Crooked Donald she is old news.

Words mean a lot. Watch what you say, watch what you write. It is toxic to keep repeating some of this crap because it feeds into stupid people remaining stupid. Republican talking points suck. They must get a list every morning because they all sound the same by the end of the day.

Crandon Beach Sucks - Where I Spent 4th of July and I Want My Parking Money Back! By Geniusofdespair

The first two photos are the same view. The first photo is the actual beach yesterday. Two is the file photo from google. Don't trust the file photos.

Photo number three is the water. I don't mind weeds mind you but the further out I went the higher the weeds were. They almost made it to the surface of the shallow water. So that is why no one is in the water in the photos. Weeds!  "Kids were saying, mommy the water is dirty." When I went out really far, where the weeds stopped, almost to the motorboat zone, the water was cloudy. Yes, I had a mask so I could see what was up.

I used to windsurf here. It was never this bad. What the hell happened to Crandon, our premiere County Park? It sucks. Haulover park is 100 times better than this.

And the water was a rusty orange down on the other side of the sandbar when I walked to the end of the beach. It looked like an algae bloom to me.

A man came up to me and said, "I don't remember Crandon being this way. What happened to the beach? They aren't maintaining it." There were plenty of county workers up and down in motorized equipment, I don't know what they were doing. Why are they shoving all the weeds and sand together into mud. Why not remove the weeds?

I want the $7 back that I paid to park here. I got robbed by the County.  We then went to Virginia Key CITY OWNED BEACH, 10 times better. We could swim and the water wasn't cloudy. The people were having way more fun. At Crandon the people stayed a little while and left.

Realty

Once- now this photo is obsolete

What lurks in the water, thigh high weeds.

Looking in the opposite direction. The pink color is really on the sand.

The Man Who Has Doomed Miami Dade County: Brian Goldmeier. By Geniusofdespair

We will never recover from Brian Goldmeier.

I made him look like a vampire because he is the closest thing we have to a vampire in Miami Dade County. He is like the Bannon for Trump except his Trump is Carlos Gimenez and his expertise is raising money and everyone knows he the best at getting people to give. Ask any lobbyist.

If we can get rid of the Strong Mayor form of Government maybe Brian wouldn't be able to suck the life and every thing else out of our County.

Here is what this guy does -- My theory of course. He raises money.  He is Gimenez' money man and Gimenez tells him for who he should help raise money. They have an unholy bond. He raised $7 Million for the mayor in 2016. MONEY translates into votes. That is a record breaking amount.

If you are trying to do business with the County or a municipality, and someone who has hired Brian is up for election -- expect a very very, very hard sell phone call, let's not assume it is extortion- never, but I think your project is done for if you don't give up wads and wads of bucks in response to these alarming  calls -- as I have been told. A rumor? That is why I made Brian a Blood Sucking vampire  in my photo illustration. He will suck the bucks right out of you and the lifeblood of all that is ethical in our county because power is so consolidated in County government. It is doomed for citizens to even try to get something done without the mayor's blessings because the Commissioners need the Mayor to win reelection. They will posture on the commission dais but we all know that is all it is, the Mayor knows how they will vote.

Brian has to know what a vendors contract would be worth before he makes that call, in other words, what he can get the sucker to give.

Goldmeier is now raising money for Francis Suarez for City Mayor and has  raised over $2 million so far. I guess that mean Gimenez has finally secured The X Man. Too bad.

So because of Brian, Mayor Gimenez has a lock on every one of the County Commissioners that needs financing. He can count on each one of them to vote the way he wants. Or, they will have to try to raise money with Brian raising money for their opponent. Gimenez has Brian work for the candidates he chooses and all the candidates need a persuasive money raiser. Again I do not want to leave you with the impression that he extorts the money from people. He is just super persuasive to every vendor that needs County approval for their contract. Procurement is what it is all about to raise campaign money.

So, Thank you Brian. I hear the Mayor has you in Hialeah now working to get that Mayor reelected.

Brian Goldmeier, you have tainted the County Commission and dubbed that dumb Mayor King of Consolidated Power. Nothing will get past Gimenez now. Money is power. What a pitiful situation the marriage of you two ethically challenged men have made of the County. Go ahead, suck that money tit for campaigns, because we know that the two of you are in bed together.

Our Inspector General Mary Cagle too chummy with the Miami Dade County powerful? By Geniusofdespair

The Miami Herald reported that Auditor James Rosenberg was removed because of his audit and he wasn't NICE enough to staff.

A former top watchdog in Miami-Dade government claims he was ousted over his efforts to expose widespread financial mismanagement in the county.

James Rosenberg used to run audits for the Inspector General office, but says he was fired over his aggressive questioning of how the county was spending its transit tax and other funds. “It’s a case of killing the messenger,” Rosenberg’s lawyer, Bill Amlong, said Friday.

This week, the county’s ethics board (ethics chief worked with Cagle at Rundle's office, I hope he recused himself) rejected Rosenberg’s allegations...

and:

Cagle warned Rosenberg last year that she would fire him in part over his inability “to deal professionally with high-level County officials (WTF? me)

and who do you think the HIGH LEVEL official was:

Gimenez’s spokesman, called Rosenberg’s accusations insulting. (the one who I suspect has ordered the cooking of the books.)

and:

His (Rosenberg) complaint centers around an accounting dispute that was the subject of the June 2016 audit that Rosenberg supervised. The report concluded that over the course of seven years, Miami-Dade improperly charged the transportation tax and other restricted revenue sources for $15 million in overhead expenses, including vacation time. The audit found the expenses should have been charged to the general fund, a more than $1 billion pool of money made up mostly of property taxes.

I was not a fan of Mary Cagle even before she was hired. I was at Mary Cagle's interview in October 2013. One thing she said particularly upset me:

One applicant said they would forge relationships and meet with commissioners (MARY said this). ICK on that one. How about arms length? You might be investigating some of them, hopefully, we don't want you to be their friends. No relationships. If someone is going to spill their guts it is not because you are their friend.

Look at his experience with transit. He was there for 16 years.

This sucks big time. We know this is going on "Budget shell game" with the Transit Sales tax increase you idiots all voted for. Where are all the projects? Stop voting for bonds too.

I wish Rosenberg luck because I believe him. And look around, isn't transit just great?

Comcast Xfinity Sucks Big Time. By Geniusofdespair

Comcast is so inferior to Atlantic Broadband.  SOOOO INFERIOR. Maybe our 5,762,000 page views will at least make Comcast take a look at their model with service calls and showing up -- which stinks.

Not only does Comcast Xfinity LIE. They Lie. We caught them in 1/2 a dozen lies. 2 we have on tape. And of course they don't show up for service calls. I stayed home for 3 service calls. Never showed.

I got this message yesterday: "They will be there in 20 minutes at about 4:40." Then about 4:30 we got a voicemail that said they were there but the building wouldn't let them, because on Friday after 4, Saturday, and Sunday trucks are not allowed in. Hah, I didn't believe them. I walked to the guard booth and asked the guard why we weren't called when Comcast Xfinity came. He said they were never here. He did say there was one Comcast Xfinity truck today. He said that truck was servicing another condo (it was 5:30). The Guard said the condo has no such weekend rule for Comcast Xfinity if the customer is home.  None.

The Guard said before becoming a Guard he was a Comcast Xfinity installer. The Guard said there is a scam at Comcast Xfinity with the installers. He said first they call you a couple of times (which they did but no one was on the line when we answered). Then they say you weren't home and then you are rescheduled by an automated voice with a random appointment. Meanwhile, you have been sitting there like a jerk for 3 hours and the NEW random appointment is a week out.

We also got a call from a garbled guy from dispatch who gave us a different story: They had an emergency and they were canceling our appointment. Then you couldn't understand anything he had to say.  We got disconnected a bunch of times from Comcast. Twice while making an appointment.

In one of the other cases, I was here for 3 hours no one ever showed. I called and they said I had no appointment. They insisted. Only thing is, I had a voicemail of the appointment time and date and the guy talking who scheduled it. The Comcast Agent wouldn't listen to it. In the first case, they just never showed up.

Will  4 times be the Comcast Charm? Fuck Comcast the worst company ever. I have spent 9 hours waiting for them so far. The part I hate: The lies.

Marco Rubio is the ULTIMATE Putz. By Geniusofdespair

(Putz a stupid or worthless person, or the verb, engage in inconsequential or unproductive activity)

Rubio said he was running because he was inspired by the Orlando gun massacre, like he could do any GOOD connected to that. Marco Rubio on the heels of that inspirational pronouncement proceeded to vote against some basic gun measures beefing up background checks and stopping suspected terrorists from getting guns. Please Marco, if you wanted to win here in Florida, you should have been an independent voice of reason. The TRAGEDY happened in your State!! You never do disappoint...in a bad way.

You can start your campaign, and I am restarting my campaign too: The Rubio Sucks Campaign: Stop-o Marco.

Miami Beach Pumping - Because of Sea Level Rise - Pollutes Biscayne Bay and They Try to Justify it and Rejecting Science Also Asking for a Herald Retraction. By Geniusofdespair

 Miami Beach Stinks and Mayor Levine Trashes Hal Wanless. 
Levine is such an ass saying Wanless just wants to sell books. How idiotic is that?

I knew this was going to happen if they allowed pumping into Biscayne Bay. And look at how combative they are for doing the wrong thing: The tests are wrong, the newspaper is wrong, the Scientists are not to be trusted. Bullshit. This sucks. I know Levine is a Dem but I hate bullies and he is one Big Bully.

"Full video of the discussion on pollution in Biscayne Bay. Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez sponsored the item, to engage the scientist whose study found over 600x the legal limit of fecal matter coming from the new Miami Beach pumps. The rest of the Commission rejected the study and the Miami Herald article, and directed the administration to ask the Herald to retract the story.Full video of the discussion on pollution in Biscayne Bay. Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez sponsored the item, to engage the scientist whose study found over 600x the legal limit of fecal matter coming from the new Miami Beach pumps. The rest of the Commission rejected the study and the Miami Herald article, and directed the administration to ask the Herald to retract the story."

Miami May 16th Miami Herald Article
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article77978817.html

Miscarriages of Justice: Voter Fraud and Commissioner Pepe Diaz Acquitted. by Geniusofdespair

We all saw the police video of Pepe Diaz caught driving his motorcycle drunk. He dropped the Harley on the ground and the police had to help pick it up. Well he was acquitted because, believe it or not he was smart enough not to blow. Without the breath-alcohol test there was enough doubt. Watch the video, you decide.

Second Video of arrest of Pepe. He is visibly drunk.

SECOND MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE VOTER FRAUD IN HUDSTEAD:

The voter absentee ballot fraud case during the Mark Bell campaign for Hudstead Mayor was dropped. The witnesses wouldn't testify/cooperate. Even though they had the fingerprints of the suspects all over the absentee ballots the trial was a no go. And, there was a TV video about that one. I believed the family of Robkevia Scott might have been given incentive NOT to testify. I reported this story January 27, 2014.

The Miami Herald reported:

It seemed like the rare, slam-dunk case of voter fraud.

Two men stood accused of unlawfully handling four other people’s mail-in ballots in the 2013 Homestead mayoral election, filling at least one of them for precisely the candidates the voter didn’t want to vote for. Miami-Dade County investigators had a palm print and fingerprints, phone records, and suspicious stories from the defendants.

What they didn’t count on: lack of cooperation from the voters who were victims of the purported fraud — even though the voters themselves were the ones who initially alerted authorities they had been duped.

At the first trial, the witnesses changed their original testimony. At the second, one of the witnesses testified she didn’t remember the day the incident took place altogether.

And so, James Brady and Samuel Jean, the two campaign workers charged with voter fraud in 2014, didn’t go to jail.

This sucks. Both stories suck. Donald Trump sucks. Everything sucks. Traffic sucks...it is a sucky, sucky, sucky day.

The Miami Herald is now a Cheerleader for Marco Rubio. By Geniusofdespair

From Yesterday's Miami Herald.

I watched that wacky Republican Debate and Rubio HAD NO SUCCESS. What is the Miami Herald talking about. I thought this was a news article but it was so chock full of bullshit I suppose it is really an Editorial on Rubio. They said "He did well last week" where??? "Strong favorable ratings" with who, the T Party? Club for Growth? Political experts think Rubio turned in a "stellar performance".  What political experts? Ick. Ick. Ick. Is the Herald switching from pushing Bush to pushing Rubio now that Rubio has jumped ahead of Bush in the polls? How about some news reporting instead of this kind of crap. Rubio's support is at 11% behind a loony, madman, lunatic who has more than double that.  Not saying much at all.

Anyway this puff piece sucks, the Miami Herald should be ashamed to have printed it and Rubio still sucks.

Eye on Miami Saturday Editorial Page - September 5th. By Geniusofdespair

Miami Herald gave up on having opinions on Saturday...we took up the slack.

HUDSTEAD (HOMESTEAD)

"Homestead Bob" lost his battle with cancer. He was a Veteran of the Vietnam war with a purple heart and he had his share of battle scars. Bob was a loving, sharing guy. I have known him for years and have shared a few dinners and lunches many at The White Lion eating enormous slices of  cake iced in pastel colors. Although I spent time with him, I never remembered his last name. Let's face it, going to Homestead is very far for most of us but we texted a lot. He is "Homestead Bob" on my contact list.

 I just know he is at peace now because he is such a good soul. He loved the cat he was a allergic to and he loved life. He also liked the Sci-Fi Channel. Not a bad bone in his body.

And now we have other Hudstead news. Former Steve Shiver will be making $150,000 at his new job as City Manager in cash poor Opa Locka. Watch out for the triangle Steve. Sorry, I mean go hang out in the triangle (The Triangle is an area known for violence and drug use. It is bounded by State Road 9 on the south, Northwest 17 Avenue to 22 Avenue on the east and west portions and Northwest 151 Street on the north in the City of Opa-locka).

LETS GET PERSONAL

I need to share at least a few pictures from my Italy trip.

Guy Excavating Pompeii

Sign Outside Assisi Bathroom...

Some hilltop town on the West Coast. (Only normal tourist photo here)

Germany Airport - Old World meets IPad. What is that she is drawing? A butterfly?

Our Rock-Mining Disaster - The Lake Belt - Looking North from the plane. These lakes were created by Strip Mining rock in Miami Dade County and putting our aquifer in jeopardy.

CAPITAL ONE VENTURE CREDIT CARD SUCKS

Okay, while in Italy I bought $450 worth of groceries at Winn Dixie. At least I tried to according to Capital One Venture Card (did I say they suck?). I have never charged groceries on the Capital One Venture Card ever. When I got back my credit card was on hold. I found out at Starbucks when the card was rejected.  I called them. The call center in some foreign country asked about whether I tried to charge coffee at Starbucks. I said: "yes." They said okay we will take the hold off.  Wait a minute Capital One Venture Card! When I questioned them about my last charges I found about the attempted Winn Dixie grocery charge. Then I questioned them further and found out my phone number and address were changed. They said they would send a new card and make the address correction.

I checked to see what they were doing in a call yesterday and this time I got someone from Florida fraud. "No, we are not sending you a new card, we reactivated it." "No we did not change your address." What???? Captial One Venture Card left the fraudsters with an active card? I told them about my call to the foreign call center and their promises. They didn't seem to care nothing was done, they said they would take care of it. I even have a password on the card and a chip. Anyone who ever worked in a doctor's office or a department store has access to the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.

I was told by the Florida Call Center for the Capital One Venture Card that I called them (while I was in Italy) and made changes to my account including putting my password on (they told me I never had one before which I did). I said "Do you really think I am going to call for a $1 a minute to do stuff for an account while in Italy?" I did make a charge in Italy while all this fraud was going on in Miami. They kept accusing me of doing stuff (I hope someone listens to the recorded call to see how customers are treated by fraud prevention), so I shut down the Capital One Venture Card account. Apparently all you need to change an address is your birth date so keep putting that on your Facebook page fools.

JOBS FOR GRANTS: THE BIG FAT LIE 

According to the Miami Herald, Miami Wilds the stupid water theme park they want to put near the zoo, promised 2,800 jobs for a $13.5 million grant. Now they are promising 400 jobs for the same grant. Sounds like the same empty promises we got from the Wet Dream American Mall. They got public land not grants.


The $75 million of our hard earned money, earmarked to bring businesses with jobs to the county - it was an Economic Development Fund - is being thrown down the drain (SkyRise Miami is getting $9) on insane, phony jobs projects by the Gimenez administration and the County Commission.

Away. By Geniusofdespair

No friggin' Saturday Editorial.

LEARN THE LESSON:

Do not be fooled SPIRIT AIRLINES SUCKS. They lure you in with a cheap fare then they nickel and dime you to death. $3 soda yep. You literally pay for every seat. Bags you pay for them all, they even have an unattended consequences fee. Here are more fees they slam you with:

Security Fee $11.20
Passenger Facility Fee $9.00
Segment Fee $8.00
Federal Excise Tax $12.70

Again, Spirit Airlines Sucks.

When the Everglades Is Only Good For a View From a High Rise. By Geniusofdespair

You know those two towers near Sawgrass Mills? This is the view from the top of one of them.  I went up there knowing I would need these photos someday and today is the day. A developer in Broward wants to develop 65 acres with high rises (he says with views of the Everglades) bordering the mall. And he will be building another shopping center within it.

I am going to say, it is not much of a view, but of course I would never live this far West. A big city bordering the Everglades, what else could you hope for...massive flooding??

The Miami Herald reports:

The first phase of the mixed-use project, scheduled to open in early 2017, will include a 263-unit residential tower with views of the Everglades and a 480,000-square-foot mall anchored by the luxury cinema iPic Theaters, as well as two hotels, an apartment building and office space. It will be centered around a 21-acre park.

Completing the massive development, called Metropica, could cost more than $1 billion.

“We’re creating a downtown for southwest Broward,” said developer Joseph Kavana. The project’s neighbors include the 350-store Sawgrass Mills mall and the BB&T Center arena.

Here it goes: Metropica Sucks!!

GO HOME DONALD TRUMP you skunk. by Geniusofdespair

Comb-Over Donald. Don't let him near the public. Ask Doral Residents that surround the Golf Course.

I still can't see but I am mad as hell. I can see enough to read one article and this made me mad as hell.  Donald Trump has no business with the public. Nothing public.  He f--ked the people surrounding the Doral Golf Course -- who are the public.  If he has so little regard for the public why do we want to give him a public course to make a private course.  He wants to cut OUR mangroves to boot. I can't see so I am giving you the Herald's take:

Rules tied to the settlement of a 1988 court challenge by heirs of the Matheson family, which once owned the land, ban anything that hints at commercial ventures at Crandon. That includes outside operators as well as sponsor signs, a must for pro golf tournaments. Bruce Matheson, who sits on the Crandon review board, essentially holds veto power over changes. Pointing to Crandon’s favorable reviews, Matheson recently said to The Miami Herald: “Why do you need Donald Trump?”

The Miami Open Tennis tournament from Crandon’s tennis operation is suing to invalidate Matheson’s authority at the park, so a court victory on that front could mean a big win for Trump, too. Russo said he’s confident about maneuvering through both the existing Crandon rules and the environmental regulations governing the 20-foot tall mangroves that surround most of Crandon.  (Genius: The height of arrogance)

If Trump “can’t get the 450 yards of mangroves reduced to 4 feet high so the Miami Skyline can be seen along [hole] Number 18, there will be no deal,” Parks Director Jack Kardys wrote in a May 6 email to an aide.

Are they for real? And worse, Mayor Carlos Gimenez is trying to rush this through when he recused himself because his son is lobbying for the skunk. This sucks, comb-over Don the skunk sucks. Go back to New York you twit. We don't need you or want you ripping us off. We have enough people from New York doing that.

Walmart: Please don't make me cry. By Geniusofdespair

The one and only issue that has me the saddest is the fucking Walmart moving into our rare endangered forest (sold by the University of Miami). It is pine rockland,  the Miami Herald calls it among the world's most impreriled habitats.  Even the Feds say the shopping center is likely to kill endangered species.

This by far is the worst thing happening in Miami Dade County and makes me feel like giving up. Walmart sucks. They don't give a shit. Why don't the do a land trade for a more suitable parcel?

Locked out of my Miami Herald Account but still something to say. By Geniusofdespair

Why do I have to keep logging in? I forgot my password so I am locked out of the Herald for now.  Damn newspaper, you suck when you lock your PAPER subscribers out.

There are two letters to the editor of note. One is great, written by Former City of Miami Beach County Commissioner Nancy Liebman. The other sucks, written by David Lawrence who I personally have little respect for.  He wanted us to give more money to PAMM the art museum that the rich people were going to endow. Good luck on that David Lawrence, Jr.. You should pay more attention to what is going on at the Children's Trust which is slowly turning into a boondoggle.  It needs leadership and maybe an AUDIT. Yes an audit. It has public funds.  Get out of the business of endorsing stupid projects for us and getting us to spend money and get back to the Trust where you are squandering enough of our money.

Nancy Liebman:

Don’t create nightmare traffic a road to nowhere

Re the Sept. 6 article, Dolphin Expressway extension gets mixed reaction: In 2004 when the Miami-Dade Commission had an agenda filled with proposed developments to extend the Urban Development Boundary, a group called Hold the Line was organized and stopped the commission. I am proud to have been a leader as president of the Urban Environment League along with the Tropical Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, and hundreds of residents from the many communities that comprise Miami-Dade County. The Commission wisely stopped this attack on the natural environment of the western limits of the county.

Forgot my password, more than one way to skin a cat (oops all the cat lovers, it is just a saying, remember I have smokey the virtual cat as a pet)

Carlos Gimenez raids property taxes for convention center which has its own tax (but that was raided for stadiums). By Geniusofdespair

The Rob Peter to pay Paul Budget Guru - Creator of the Sleight of Hand Budget

You heard of the saying "Rob Peter to pay Paul except in this case PAUL (tourist taxes) can only be used for Convention Centers (which they stretched into meaning stadiums). Peter is our sacred Property Tax money that can be used for anything.   Well our property taxes are now being used for the Miami Beach Convention Center because these stadiums bankrupted the Tourist Tax and the convention center STILL needs $580 million.

You have, of course, heard them say over and over that the tourist tax, money they use for STADIUMS, can only be used for that. It is actually money set aside for Convention Centers not stadiums.  Well Gimenez is taking our short supply of property tax monies to pay for the Miami Beach convention center in a convoluted deal. And this of course SUCKS. Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald reported this July 4th. It was buried on a holiday and I think it is the most important story of the week:

Jorge Gonzalez, the former Miami Beach city manager, said the agreement highlights the legacy of the 2009 decision by Miami-Dade to spend hotel taxes on Marlins Park. By tying up hotel taxes for the stadium — ballpark debt is slated to take up $9 million in hotel taxes this year — Miami-Dade can’t dedicate tourist-generated dollars for the convention center.

“Yes, we’re using hotel taxes for the baseball stadium,’’ said Gonzalez, now manager of Bal Harbour Village. “But we’re using property taxes for the convention center.”

This might turn out to be a good deal for Miami Beach with all the perks that Carlos Gimenez is offering but it is a deadly deal for us. We have been lied too. This deal postpones the inevitable, it is a sleigh of hands. And it left us in debt to the Marlins.

As part of a complicated swap with Miami Beach, Gimenez wants to delay paying $18 million in property taxes to the resort city this year and another $14 million in 2016. In exchange, Miami-Dade would add about 20 years to the life of a special taxing district around the Lincoln Road area — which is forecast to cost Miami-Dade about $800 million in diverted property taxes during the extension through 2045.

Read the article and see how you have been lied to about this stupid tax over the years. Barbara Jordan always says, when she approves ever Stadium scam, "it is not our taxes the tourists pay it." They keep saying, it is not our tax money it is tourist money and they approve the deals. Well now it is our tax money. Because they spent the damn convention money on stadiums.

Stadiums are the thorn in the side of every mayor in Miami Dade County because they keep entertaining them. And the stupid commissioners, they agree to everything. What is wrong with just plain NO. Beckham is off to Broward, good riddance. Read the article in the Miami Herald.

The most recent pandering by County Commissioner Lynda Bell: THIS SUCKS … guest blog by Ann Hinga

Part 2 also see Part 1:
 

Lynda Bell at May 6th County Commission Meeting.

In 2000, Congress authorized the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan to restore the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Among the conditions placed on CERP by Congress, CERP implementation required the maintenance of then-current flood protection levels.

Since CERP was authorized, some agricultural interests, some development interests, and some elected officials have sought to misrepresent the authorization and claim that CERP is meant to provide enhanced flood protection. This is untrue. Yesterday, Miami Dade County Commissioner Lynda Bell actively participated in this misrepresentation by putting forth a resolution she claims was in support of full implementation of the C-111 CERP project and the Modified Waters Delivery Project (which is a foundation ecological restoration project that was meant to pre-date CERP). If her intention was truly to forward these critical CERP projects for ecological restoration, LYNDA BELL would not have included the language highlighted below:

RESOLUTION URGING THE SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO FULLY IMPLEMENT AND OPERATE THE MODIFIED WATER DELIVERIES PROJECT AND THE C-111 PROJECT TO END FLOOD IMPACTS TO AGRICULTURAL PROPERTIES IN SOUTHERN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY CAUSED BY WATER MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

The full resolution language is available here.

You can view the webcast of the hearing here, it comes at 3:28 on the counter:

Some things to keep in mind as you review the resolution and video…

1) This resolution did not go to a Board of County Commissioners committee and thereby avoided public hearing.

2) This resolution was on the 4-day rule portion of the agenda, meaning Commission Lynda Bell's colleagues did not get the required four days needed for adequate review. Any of the other Commissioners could have asked for a deferral for the simple reason they did not have enough time for review. Unfortunately, the other Commissioners are not fluent enough in CERP and did not recognize the bait and switch Commissioner Bell was pulling.

3) Commissioner Lynda Bell claimed she contacted environmental groups prior to putting this forward. Another lie. Only one group - the Everglades Foundation - acknowledges they were contacted, but their representative gave public comment earlier in the day that they could not support the project because it created false expectations of flood control. (see 1:48 min. on the webcast link for the comments by the Everglades Foundation.)

4) The only non-elected person that spoke on the item was MDC Agricultural Manager Charles LaPradd. No professional staff from DERM, nor anyone that could speak about the environmental issues, provided any testimony.

5) Commissioner Bell acknowledged right at the beginning of her comments that this was related to discussions she had with the Farm Bureau and some of the South Dade growers.

Ironically, as if a well-choreographed dance, south Dade resident James Humble was at the combined Water Resources Advisory Committee / South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force meeting also asserting that south Dade is entitled to enhanced flood protection under CERP. This meeting was at the same time as the Commission meeting; one reason why the environmental groups were not present in Commission Chambers when Bell's item was heard.

If Commissioner Lynda Bell and the south Dade agricultural interests really want to advocate for full implementation of CERP, it's time for them to get real and start developing strategies to help them adapt to restoration - if adaptation is really even needed. It's more likely that full implementation of CERP is needed to protect ground water resources for their benefit and the benefit of the ecosystem.

MAGIC CITY BLOG SUCKS. By Geniusofdespair

They are stealing all the content from other blogs and not even linking to them, yet they get all the advertising revenue. 

Apparently they don't read what they post. They just steal it.