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Resolutions and Regrets
Locals Sound Off on
Their Aspirations for 2007 and Their Regrets for 2006
“Well
you don’t want to make enemies!”
“To look into this whole MySpace thing I keep hearing about.”
Compiled by Angie
Hargot, Ryan Brown, Omar Sommereyns
As we bid farewell
to 2006, the SunPost decided to call and e-mail randomly
selected local figures and ask them what their New Year’s
resolutions are for 2007.
We know — the idea
has been done before. So we took a new twist: We decided to ask what
they regret from the past year. The result: a livelier survey of our
local politicians, media personalities, activists, business owners,
promoters and anyone else we could get hold of during a time when
virtually everyone is out for the holidays.
Peter
Ehrlich,
real estate investor
Resolution:
“My New
Year’s resolution is to travel more frequently. I visited Argentina
twice in 2006 but this year I would like to see more countries.”
Regret:
“My
biggest regret of 2006 is that I was offered an enormous profit on a
real estate deal but I was unable to accept. Maybe I should say I
regret there’s too much poverty in America?”
***
 Jim
DeFede,
host of the Jim DeFede Show on 940 AM and commentator for CBS
4, former Miami Herald columnist
Resolution: “The
resolution I have for 2007 is the same as I had for 2006, which is
to not get fired.”
Regret:
“Actually, given everything that’s happened with TV and radio for me
this year, I regret not having been fired from the Herald
sooner.”
Don
Harrison,
public
relations manager for Home Depot
"You said the
SunPost, right? Yeah. You folks have pretty much torn us up over
the Home Depot in the Grove. So I'm gonna pass."
Ray Breslin,
president of the Collins Park Neighborhood Association
Resolution:
“I hope
that during 2007 the parking garage on 23rd Street gets
developed. I hope the city and the Bass Museum can finally come to
an agreement for the addition. And I hope the South Beach Local bus
comes to Collins Park.”
Regret:
“Our Collins
Park Neighborhood Association didn’t push hard enough to have the
rotunda at Collins Park renovated rather than sealed off and boarded
up. [The city has allocated $5 million to renovate the park.] The
city said they have $500,000 as part of CIP money to redo it. It was
gonna cost $1.3 million. And the city said they don’t have the
money. I really don’t believe the city as far as that goes. It’s
just sealed up. It has lots of uses rather than just as an art
project. I regret seriously that Cirque du Soleil didn’t get the
Jackie Gleason. The city of Miami Beach definitely needs a permanent
venue – Cirque would have been perfect. Every major city has a
permanent performance venue. I talked to Mark-something who was
representing Cirque and he said, ‘Sometimes when you win you lose’
[about the fighting with the city]. I said, ‘Well, only complainers
come out [to meetings]. Supporters don’t.’”
 Nancy
Liebman,
president of the Urban Environment League UEL and former Miami Beach
commissioner
Resolution:
“My New
Year’s resolution would be to strengthen the UEL and bring it to
greater heights.”
Regret:
“A lot of the
projects that we’ve tried — the Bicentennial Park master plan, the
Virginia Key master plan, the Miami 21 master plan – that should
have happened last year didn’t. With effort on the part of the UEL
and the government to make these things happen, we can have an even
more exciting, world-class Miami-Dade County.”
Joe Fontana,
Miami Beach
activist
Resolution:
“To
continue what I’ve been doing in the past — helping young people and
senior citizens, and seeing that the city continues to move ahead.
To continue to watch over the city.”
Regret:
“Well you don’t
want to make enemies! Things are moving ahead for the safety of our
city. I have no regrets because I see things moving ahead. I want to
see the completion of the 63rd Street flyover as soon as
possible. I want everyone to have a happy and healthy new year, for
people to be more involved to ensure the success of our city. This
is their city.”
 Denise
Perry,
co-founder, Power U Center for Social Change
Resolution: “Spread
throughout the nation that Mayor Manny Diaz has created two Miamis —
the haves and the have-nots.”
Regret:
“That I ever believed anything that Commissioner Michelle
Spence-Jones has said.”
Alex Daoud,
former
three-time mayor of Miami Beach
“I’m advertising in
the paper so I want no part of that. And no negativity.”
 Linda
Haskins,
former chief financial officer for the city of Miami and former Miami
City Commission candidate (“You’re not gonna run that awful picture
of me again, are you? It was rather biased.”)
Resolution:
“I’m gonna learn to speak Spanish.”
Regret:
“I really have
none — believe it or not. I had a great year.”
 Michael
Góngora,
newly elected Miami Beach commissioner
Resolution:
“I want to
master the art of being a good commissioner. I also want to focus
more on my personal life, which kind of got sidetracked during the
campaign.”
Regret:
“I think regrets are a waste of time.”
Fane Lozman,
former North Bay Village activist, current Riviera Beach activist
Resolution:
“To get the Riviera Beach mayor, Michael Brown, indicted for
corruption. He pushed the eminent domain battle here, which was a
big national story. He wanted to build a huge project that would
have relied on eminent domain to take people’s houses. We saved
thousands of people’s homes. He uses his position as mayor for
financial gain for himself. He’s my nemesis.”
Regret:
“I regret that I was only able to get the former North Bay Village
city manager, Charity Good, fired; and not the North Bay Village
police chief — what’s that asshole’s name? — Scott Israel.…”
Eric Major,
former Pawn Shop VIP director, current “man about town”
Resolution:
“To get a personal trainer and golf more.”
Regret:
“I came to Miami from Las Vegas in 2004 to start Pawn Shop. I regret
losing touch with family and friends in Vegas.”
Matt Heien,
publicist
Resolution:
“To quit smoking – I know that’s lame, but that’s the big one.”
Regret:
“That I had the same resolution last year … ”
Frank Rollason,
former director of Miami’s Redevelopment Agency and former Miami City
Commission candidate (taken while stuck in the Denver airport in a
snowstorm)
Resolution:
“I haven’t
even thought about a New Year’s resolution.”
Regret:
“There are no
regrets — you just press on.”
Lauren “Lolo”
Reskin,
owner of Sweat Records
Resolution: “I’m going
vegan all the way. It just feels right. And I’m going to really
learn Spanish because I’m going to live in Miami several more years
and it’s needed.”
Regret:
“I try not to do things that I regret, but if I had one, it would be
not learning Spanish sooner.”
Charles W. Burkett,
Surfside
mayor and president of the Burkett Companies
Resolution:
“To earn
the love, respect and mayoral recommendation of the geniuses at the
SunPost editorial staff in the future.”
Regret:
“That the
geniuses at the SunPost editorial staff didn't recommend me
for mayor of Surfside in the last election.”
 Tiffany
Hanan Madera,
belly dancer
Resolution:
“To get off wheat and refined sugar, and to keep my checkbook
balanced. I want to have more of a social life, and I want to dance
again.”
Regret:
“Giving in to my caffeine and sugar addiction. Also, I’ve stopped
dancing because I’m in grad school.
 Joe
Arriola,
former Miami city
manager
Resolution:
“In 2007 my resolution is to go to all the Heat games.”
Regret:
“That I did not leave my job earlier. Retirement is great.”
Marc Sarnoff,
Miami
city commissioner
Resolution:
“Since I’ve been running for office, I’ve spent every free moment of
my time trying to be and now being a commissioner. So my resolution
would be to find a way to spend more time with my family.”
Regret:
“Not spending enough time with my family since I’ve been so busy
with the campaign and being a commissioner.”
Joel Meinholz,
nightlife promoter
Resolution: “To make
this city more fun, more dope parties and no more drama.”
Regret:
“Sleeping on things — not reacting fast enough to opportunities that
may have opened up to me. Oh, and not hanging out enough with
friends and family.”
Aramis Lorie,
promoter of Poplife
Resolution:
“Go out more during the day, and maybe start going to the gym.”
Regret:
“That the
hypocrisy of the world isn’t changing, whether it’s the government
and/or the attitude in social scenes. That would probably be my
regret every year.”
 Danny
and Alex Brody,
owners of Stop Miami
Resolution:
“We just really hope to continue to support the new and local
artists and scene by supplying them with cheap booze.”
Regret: “I hope we
haven’t lost the opportunity to transform the Design District and
Wynwood into the real art community that we all think it could
become, instead of it changing into a spot amid a condo canyon
without all the interesting and fun stuff in the middle there.”
Andrew “DJ Contra”
Nazaretz,
DJ
Resolution: “To look into this whole MySpace thing I keep hearing
about.”
Regret: “Not buying a bed when I first moved into a new place in
January. I've been literally sleeping on the floor up until a month
ago. Still have no bed, but ladies should know that I now have a
futon mat with a comforter and sheets, clean ones … they're
green.”
Marc and Blue
Solomon,
owners of A, the restaurant
Resolution:
“Have more
fun in Miami.”
Regret:
“Too much fun in Miami!”
Jacquelyn Johnston,
owner, Faktura Gallery, Miami
Resolution:
“To hustle more lovers and love more hustlers….”
Regret:
“Playin’ by the rules.”
Comments? E-mail
letters@miamisunpost.com.
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