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Being
involved in our political system can be as easy as a letter to
an elected official; public service, such as working at your
local polling place; or just staying informed as to what people
have to say.
There’s
a whole world of information out there on the Net, in
newspapers, on the radio and television, and we have to be
discerning as to what is truth.
Let’s
not just take someone’s word for the truth.
Let it
be said, Truth for authority, not authority for truth. In
other words, it isn’t the truth just because someone in
authority said it was so.
If the
truth hurts, then so be it and I’m glad the truth has been
wrested from John Timoney, a person in authority who may have
believed he’s not governed by the law he’s supposed to uphold.
When all the facts have been pried from those in power by those
who respect the public’s right to know, then maybe we’ll start
to get people in positions of power who will be held to the same
ethical standards.
Buzz
Fleischman
Miami
Springs
The
Truth Hurts — and It Can Be Hard For Some Newspapers to Deal
With
Ms.
Wakefield:
First, I
want to thank you for being the first reporter to write an
article that stayed on point with the subject at hand. After
reading the Herald’s three varying positions written on
Aug. 22, I thought for sure I had lost what little of my sanity
I have left after being “on the job” in Miami for almost 30
years. I mean we went from the Lexus to the FTAA to a damaged
reputation, as if the taking of graft and lying are minor
infractions only because it was carried out by the chief law
enforcement officer of the city!
Excellent reporting of the facts and the political nuances the
majority of citizens in Miami can never seem to get a grasp on.
This
collection of gentlemen (used in the loosest term) has
single-handedly taken local politics from the sublime to the
absolutely ridiculous in four short years. That’s not to say
everything was peachy keen before they got here with Suarez’s,
Carollo’s and Hernandez’s Banana Republic group holding court.
But now it seems that blatant violations of ethics and law can
be resolved with a fine and/or a slap on the wrist. All of these
characters will leave with a city pension and benefits and
sashay on back to the lucrative personal businesses from whence
they ALL came, leaving the 30-year-career people to clean up
after them.
The sad
footnote to all of this is that a large group of competent,
capable employees with many years of public sector experience
have lost their jobs or quit because of the antics of these
buffoons.
Name
Withheld By Request
Missing Clay: It Was
Always a Pleasure to See Him
I wish I
had read the SunPost earlier as I missed Clay Hamilton’s
funeral, which I would have gone to, although I really did not
know him that well [“He Knew Everybody,” published Aug. 9.]
I loved
it that you wrote the article although I was very sad of his
demise. I only knew him about town but he always had a smile and
we would always kiss on both cheeks (the European way!) and have
a little talk. I will miss him!
Thanks
again,
Brigitte
Grosjean, public relations manager
Jungle
Island
Miami
Viva,
Las Vegas! And Miami Too, Once It Indulges in the Needs of Man
To the
Editor:
Regarding your “opinion” article, “Money for Education a Bad
Argument for Slot Machines,” published on Aug. 9:
Education was a great and solid argument put forth by the state
of Florida to entice us to approve a state Lotto years ago.
I wish
you would put this issue in the proper perspective. Cruise ships
— under foreign registry — all have one major drawing card:
complete casino gambling! An individual can land at Miami
International Airport, then take a cab to the Dodge Island Port,
board his ship and sail off on a leisurely cruise. Thus, from
airport to cruise ship, an individual doesn’t have to spend a
cent in the city at all.
Who
benefits? Not the city, county or state! Just think about this
in a reasonable way.
Atlantic
City, Las Vegas, the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and others will do
their best to make sure we never have state-controlled casinos
all over Florida.
More and
more states have casinos, floating gambling ships, to the
benefit of many. Slot machines in our pari-mutuels will
contribute to our state and counties. Why would anyone not be in
favor of this?
With
property taxes, insurance rates and the like all becoming
prohibitive, income from slot machines should be a welcome
relief for taxpayers.
By the
way, have you ever noticed when gambling issues are put to a
vote, all the ads for cruise ship gambling fun totally disappear
from television? How convenient.
I hope
the pari-mutuel industry — dog racing, jai alai and horse tracks
— are successful in this upcoming Jan. 29 vote. Man is a
gambling animal!
Sincerely,
Ronald
C. Rickey
Miami
Beach
An
Alternative Use for a Performing Arts Center, the Nature of
Politicians and the Motivation of Insurance Hikes
My home
is stuffed with art, upstairs, downstairs, in the garage and in
the garden. I am an art lover. When my wife wanted to replace a
watercolor with a 52-inch flat screen, I went into a state of
depression. I browse about, and never have I paid more than $100
for art, which I like. The TV was into the thousands of dollars.
Imagine a TV screen replacing a good old-fashioned painting. If
it is too expensive, for me, it is no longer enjoyment. So some
Miamians want a public art museum at the cost of $200 million
for bricks to house and hang the almost nonexistent stuff on
blank walls. No longer is this kind of art enjoyable to me. It
is far too expensive. But since it does have the interest of our
good public servants, be assured the $200 million will be spent
on the museum, not for art’s sake but for the 5+ percent
kickback commissions on the construction project.
So with
as much humility as I can gather, can I suggest forgetting the
$200 million capital expenditure for brick and mortar? Can we
sneak some paintings into the performing arts center, hang them
on the wall and claim the performing arts center a part-time
museum? Maybe the $200 million could be spent on world-class
famous statues and the like. Then we might have a tourist
attraction less than equal to New York, but truly worthy of
tourist dollars. Maybe then, the $4 million deficit of the
performing arts center, which is presently weighting upon
taxpayers’ shoulders, would be lifted.
Some
folks want a $200 million art museum; others want a $400 million
baseball stadium. I used to want trees, but now I want a
billion-dollar water preservation act. Politicians would satisfy
all of us, if they could, because 5 percent of $1.6 billion is
$80 million in pocket change for them and their buddies. By the
way, we would have had real insurance reform had it not been for
the legal (not brown bag) 5 percent commissions tacked into
every renewal policy. That’s the bottom line motivation for all
our commissions and the like. When will someone put these last
sentences in BOLD and UPPER CASE print?
Sincerely,
Robert
Fournier
Miami
For
Alternative Energy, Catch the Wind — and Maybe Some Sea Life
Recently, Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio wrote an op-ed
article critical of Governor Crist’s executive order promoting
alternative energy development. He claims that it will increase
energy costs. This is nonsense.
To the
contrary, the potential for developing numerous forms of
nonpolluting alternative energy and renewable fuels in the state
of Florida would reduce such costs. The inane comments by
Speaker Rubio (and the unusually prompt support by self-serving
lobbyists from the National Association of Manufacturers) are
disingenuous.
The
energy produced by the steady winds on both the east and west
coasts of Florida have barely been tapped. Clearly, the highly
efficient wind turbines being produced in the U.S. by General
Electric and numerous other manufacturers could be utilized very
effectively along the long Florida coastline. Additionally,
continuous improvements in the efficiency of photovoltaic and
thermal energy conversion panels could make major contributions
to energy demands in a warm sunny climate such as Florida. This
would contribute substantially to the energy grid as well as
provide local power backup in any emergency.
If we
also consider the use of offshore aquatic vegetation being
developed as biodiesel fuel, the equation for providing for
future energy needs in Florida would seem almost complete. We
can then add existing nuclear energy and total this equation.
The big
question is whether the members of the National Association of
Manufacturers and their political allies are smart enough to
understand the investment potential of alternative energies?
Logically, this would result in improved national productivity,
creation of new industry, increased high-quality domestic
employment and an accompanying reduction in energy costs.
Alternatively, they can continue to pursue the irrational belief
that it’s cheaper to try to influence (bribe?) politicians and
get taxpayer-funded subsidies through their “campaign
contributions.” Why don’t they consider the counterproductive
political and social effects of such traditional oligarchic
actions?
Abraham
Moses Genen
Aventura
The
Overcrowded School Preservation Act: Guaranteeing an Unhealthy
Education Environment for Years to Come
Florida
school districts got a welcome present from the state
Legislature this year. With little fanfare, legislators voted to
keep overcrowded schools around a bit longer.
The action
came none too soon for the school districts. Under a law passed
in 2005, they were under the gun to pay for more schools to
handle growth. That law, called school concurrency, forces
school districts to provide classroom space for students from
new housing developments. What it doesn’t do is provide the
money to build the classrooms.
Now a new
law called HB 7203 gives school districts a little breathing
room before they must raise money for those classrooms.
Dubbed the
Developers’ Relief Act by its critics, HB 7203 mostly prevents
overcrowded roads from stopping development. But a little
noticed clause also helps prevent overcrowded schools from doing
the same.
School
concurrency has two rules that threaten overcrowded schools. One
says that schools can’t take in more students than they have
space for. The other says that school districts can’t plan to
build new schools unless they have the money to build them.
HB 7203
softens these rules. Now school districts just have to
demonstrate that they will build new schools to take care of new
developments. It doesn’t say how they will demonstrate that. But
they don’t necessarily need to prove they have the money up
front anymore.
It also
lets schools take in more students than their capacity limit; so
long as school districts can demonstrate there will be enough
room for them later on. And later on doesn’t have to be as soon
as it used to be.
In the old
school concurrency law, school districts could only look ahead
five years when drawing up plans for new schools. Now they can
stretch that out to 10 or even 15 years just by showing that
schools in a certain area have been overcrowded for a long time.
Then they
can set up what is called a long-term school concurrency
management system to try and bring those schools up to
concurrency code. That will give them an extra five or 10 years
for their school building plan, at least for that area.
The real
predicament with the old school concurrency law is that it could
block new developments. This could happen if there isn’t enough
school space for the kids coming in from the developments. If
the schools didn’t have space already, the school district would
have to have plans to build more schools for those kids.
The school
district would have to show where they would get the money for
the new schools. And the schools would have to be ready, or
almost ready, in three years from the date a new development
starts. Otherwise, if the developer couldn’t afford to build a
new school, the development would be stopped in its tracks.
With HB
7203, the school districts, and everyone concerned, have a
little more space to cope with this problem. Perhaps they may
hope that future legislative sessions will relax the rules even
further. With the coming downturn in property taxes, that might
be unavoidable.
It looks
like overcrowded schools might be here to stay.
Peter
Rebmann
President,
Alachua County School Concurrency Project
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