We know where Pinecrest - and Mayor Cindy Lerner stand. How about Palmetto Bay?

Info below was published in the May 2, 2013, Pinecrest e-news update. A clear, unambiguous position. Thank you Mayor Lerner. 

South Dade Busway Update

We continue to question and oppose the concept of building an above grade toll express lane over the Busway along US 1.  MDX continues to study this ill-conceived proposal, which will not be completed until 2015, and the opposition through out South Miami-Dade grows with each public presentation.  The Village has recently responded to a grant program, by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, and applied for a grant to undertake additional studies for enhanced transit as opposed to putting more cars on the road, all of which would dump back onto US 1 somewhere in Pinecrest. We are proposing the county study a light-rail alternative or enhanced bus transit as a parallel proposed study to the express lanes study. I have asked Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and our local county commissioners (Moss, Bell and Suarez) to support our proposal. Please read this article from the Miami Herald for more information.

Special Council meeting - could consideration of a property tax rate increase be in the works?

Why can't the village council meeting go forward as scheduled and noticed since the beginning of the year; before the holiday rather than on the first business day after most have been focused on a four day 4th of July Holiday? There is no need to move this July meeting if the council intends to set a property tax millage rate at or below the current rate. Moving the meeting date is need only if this Mayor and council want to consider an increase in the maximum millage rate.

The issue is adopting the Maximum Millage rate which is done in July.  A special council meeting has been called or tonight, Wednesday, June 19th. There is but one item on the agenda (CLICK HERE to view): Changing the July regular village council meeting from the scheduled July 1 date back to July 8.  The reason is that the final tax roll is certified and released by the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser on July 1st (an annual date) and this does not provide meaningful time for review by staff prior to the council adopting the maximum millage rate for this coming budget session.

I see no issue - if the Village Council intends to set the maximum millage rate at the current rate. Tax relief should never be done at time of setting the maximum millage rate. This is is not final property tax rate, the council can lower the actual millage rate at the time the budget is adopted, but you cannot raise the rate above the the adopted maximum; rather, it is a maximum working rate while the budget is being created in August and deliberated on by the council during the two September budget hearings,

I have written previously (CLICK HERE) about Palmetto Bay being only one a few municipalities to see a further, though slight, reduction in its tax base (0.7%)this may be impacting the budget forecasts for the upcoming budget year 2013/14,

People have asked me whether I think this could signal a willingness to consider a property tax increase. We will not know until the maximum millage rate is adopted in July. There will obviously be no tax increase if the current property tax rate is adopted as the maximum millage rate.

But things will get more interesting if the council adopts a maximum millage rate that is higher than the current tax rate.

Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall takes a stand: MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard - Other Views - MiamiHerald.com

MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard - Other Views - MiamiHerald.com
Thank you to the reader who pointed out Cutler Bay Mayor Ed MacDougall's article posted in the opinion section of the Tuesday, June 18, 2013, Miami Herald: MDX tolls keep rising: Let your voice be heard

Mayor MacDougall is showing great leadership on this issue. Take a stand! Mayor MacDougall's actions are in stark contrast to what is NOT happening in Palmetto Bay.

Mayor MacDougall states that he has attended the last two MDX board meetings and was so disappointed by the lack of attendance by our elected officials at these critical hearings. Incredibly, he was the only elected official to watch the MDX board actions.
 
He is asking for you, the taxpayers to get involved in the MDX process, that (a)lthough these important hearings are public there is a sparse audience and the board seems to act in a bubble without any thought to the people who travel these roads daily.

I personally join Mayor MacDougall in thanking the efforts of the grassroots group, RollBackTolls.com, these MDX issues are getting the attention they deserve.

Thank you Mayor MacDougall.  Be sure to let your neighboring counterpart know when it is safe to surface and take part in issues of regional importance. She has been strangely silent on this issue as well.

Note that this is not the first complaint I have issued regarding a strange lack of leadership within Palmetto Bay's current electeds.  See:
A great example of action, follow through, by the Village of Pinecrest on Neighborhood Protection; and
Update on the 3/19 MDX South MIami-Dade meeting. Toll hike on state roads 836 and 112 might not be final - MiamiHerald.com

Current Palmetto Bay leadership strangely silent on yet another issue. Kendall residents oppose giant FPL power lines - Kendall - MiamiHerald.com

Kendall residents oppose giant FPL power lines - Kendall - MiamiHerald.com
Mayor Shelley Stanczyk and the current council appear to be hiding from important neighborhood protection issues.  Where are you Mayor Stanczyk? We need to see some very public leadership on these critical issues that will profoundly impact Palmetto Bay as part of the entire eastern corridor of South Dade.

I have written about this before, including last April, 2013: South Dade Busway update. Pinecrest and Cutler Bay are engaged in neighborhood protection. Palmetto Bay continues to ignore this important issue under the current administration.

We cannot afford elected leadership that waffles or waits for others to do the heavy lifting. It is time for this administration to step aside if she believes her sole duty is to lead the photo ops while leaving the critical and sometimes controversial work for others.

Three issues that deserve your public efforts or explanation:
 
The USDA location Fire Station (this is an issue that originally passed the US House in 2009, but let slip by the current Mayor) - also see  Nov. 30, 2012; A holiday wish list for the new Palmetto Bay council | Palmetto Bay. The 2013 Palmetto Bay council has a chance to go positive this upcoming year.: Where in I asked for "The status of two fire stations that the original Palmetto Bay village council worked with Federal, State and Local (County Commission and Fire Department) officials." Obviously I should have picked up from the deafening silence from Mayor Stanczyk that the news was not good, proven not only by the lack of response from her, but in the recent failed panicked rush to pick up a long-neglected project apparently on life-support if not now dead.):
 
South Dade Busway (see two links above to the April 30th article); and
 
FPL Transmission lines (See the March 2, 2012 blog article: Update on the US1 Transmission line fight. Pinecrest, South Miami, Coral Gables and Miami continue the effort).

What gives? Just where does Palmetto Bay stand on these issues? The public has a right to elected officials that will actually fight for their neighborhoods. 

Happy Father’s Day - 2013

I want to wish a very Happy Father’s Day this Sunday to all fathers and grandfathers and those who fill the role of Dad, who live, work, play, or raise their family here in and around our communities.

Father’s Day is a day to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. A special Father’s Day wish goes out to the families who are separated due to military service, especially overseas

“Fun Facts” relating to Father’s Day:

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

Father's Day is the fifth most popular card-sending holiday, with an estimated $100 million in card sales. Husbands, grandfathers, uncles, sons and sons-in-law are honored as well as father.

Neck ties, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, are the number one gift for Father’s Day.

See History.com for additional history on Father's Day.
 
2 Fun quote for this year:   

Stanley T. Banks; (Character, movie - Father of the Bride (1991):
You fathers will understand. You have a little girl. She looks up to you. You're her oracle. You're her hero. And then the day comes when she gets her first permanent wave and goes to her first real party, and from that day on, you're in a constant state of panic.

Kid Rock (musician):
Being a father helps me be more responsible... you see more things than you've ever seen. 

Happy Father’s Day! 

Enjoy the YouTube videos - both from the movie "Parenthood."

 

June 14th is Flag Day. Fly it with pride. Happy Flag Day 2013.

Today is June 14, which has been designated as “Flag Day.” June 14, 1777 is the date that Congress officially adopted our nation’s flag.

 

The U.S. flag has been modified 26 times since its adoption in 1777. Today's 50-star flag, created in 1960, has been in use the longest.  Check out: Flag Day 2013: 9 things you never knew about the American Flag for interesting reading/facks sbout this day and the American Flag.

Additional recommended reading is How to display the American flag, By Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Chicago Tribune

 

Are you up to date on flag custom; which days are appropriate to fly your flag? The answer is every day, but there are special days when the flag should be displayed.

 

Please review my 2011 article regarding Flag Day: Today, June 14, is Flag Day, a special day to fly the US Flag. This article contains links to more information regarding flag customs including:

Air Force Association

UNITED STATES CODE

(Display of U.S. flag)

Title 36, Chapter 10 PATRIOTIC CUSTOMS

Sec. 174. Time and occasions for display

 

And a list of the dates that we should display the U.S. Flag.

Backyard oasis update

Yes they've been crossing their legs. I have not even planted my corky vine purchased recently from TAS Native Plant sale yet. Gulf Fritillary and Zebra Longwing caterpillars seem to always be together.  I have never seen one variety without the other. Why is it that?

SI - never a fan of the University of Miami - takes a critical look at the NCAA and president Mark Emmert

Under Emmert, NCAA enforcement division has gone from bad to worse

Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/miami-ncaa/#ixzz2W6jrgJ77

Miami Hurricanes brace for NCAA hearings - UM - MiamiHerald.com

INDIANAPOLIS: Donna Shalala, Miami Hurricanes brace for NCAA hearings - UM - MiamiHerald.com

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.  I am looking forward to reading the SI article titled “The Institution Has Lost Control” (which the Miami Herald reports is set to be released in magazines Thursday). The article is alleged to touch on the “atmosphere of instability, distrust and tension in the NCAA’s enforcement division” since NCAA President Mark Emmert took office in October 2010.

Good luck to the 'Canes with this group. The NCAA will be hard pressed not to try to save face and take it out on the 'Canes.

UM finally comes to hearing Thurs., June 13th. What you can expect

Bleacherreport.com: What Mississippi State's NCAA Probation Means to Miami By Michael Felder
(National College Football Lead Writer) on June 10, 2013

Click the link above to read the entire article.  For those who have not followed College Football for several years, turned on TV or Internet news or read any newspapers - the University of Miami finally has its day in 'court' (before an NCAA internal board) this Thursday, June 13.  What can we expect from what, in my opinion, is universally accepted as "tainted" proceedings which has seen firings of NCAA enforcement administrators and investigators, exclusion of some evidence and the over-empowerment, a ridiculous granting of a public stage, to an admitted liar and convicted felon.  In summary, the author states that:

For Miami fans, the smart move is to simply hope for the best, hope that the NCAA recognizes this is a battle it cannot win, and to take its ball and go home. Hope that time served is the compromise. Most importantly, hope that the NCAA does not continue its crusade against the 'Canes despite the public missteps that have tainted the findings.

The NCAA is a strange beast. Often, none of its rulings appear to follow much in the way of a pattern. In the case  of something as unique as the Miami situation, this becomes even more true. There is nothing to learn about Miami from Mississippi State situation. But this Miami case is teaching all of us plenty about how the NCAA operates.

CLICK HERE to view previous blog articles regarding this outrageous NCAA v. UM witch hunt. Just for fun, here is a YouTube clip of how I think the hearing will play out on Thursday (WARNING - "R" rated language in video):

"I put it to you (NCAA President Mark Emmert), isn't this an indictment of our entire American society?"

Work ongoing to protect our local environment. Scientists find rare butterfly on Biscayne Bay island - MiamiHerald.com

Scientists find rare butterfly on Biscayne Bay island - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
Researchers hunting for one of the world’s rarest butterflies announced that they captured a single female in the mosquito-filled forest of Elliott Key. 

That may not sound like much but the discovery last week gives scientists a shot at producing lab-bred Schaus swallowtails to boost a population that experts fear is fast fluttering toward extinction.

“It at least gives us some hope,’’ said Jaret Daniels, a University of Florida butterfly expert leading a recovery effort that includes state and federal wildlife agencies and Biscayne National Park.

The current 2013 article documents those actions that have been ongoing to deter (perhaps delay) what I feared in a June 13, 2012, South Dade Updates post: Butterfly on the brink.  Another Florida species to go extinct in our lifetime?  Interested readers will learn that: Decades ago, hundreds of Schaus swallowtails — hand-sized butterflies with brown-black wings accented by swirls of yellow – would typically be in the area called Petrel Point at this time of year, slowly flitting along trail edges and around the torchwood and wild lime trees that are prime “host plants” where they lay their eggs.

Last year, 35 were spotted on Elliott, another six in Key Largo. This year, they’re even fewer and very far between – five sightings overall since May 11, only three confirmed.

Because butterfly pupae can survive dormant for several years, biologists can mount capture efforts again if they strike out in this waning flight season. But without some boost from captive breeding, the Schaus could be fast slipping toward extinction.

Additional information from Cornell University, Insect Conservation Biology on the Papilio aristodemusponceanus, Shaus Swallowtail Butterfly 

 

This is a somewhat good (but not great) news update to my prior post (and prior Miami Herald article) of June 28, 2012 : State declares Miami blue butterfly endangered. Florida Wildlife managers declared the Miami blue butterfly an endangered species back in June, 2012, noting that the tiny Miami blue butterfly, which once ranged from the Florida Keys to Daytona Beach, has been reduced to a few hundred survivors on islands off Key West. Its decline has been blamed on an array of threats, including pesticide spraying, development in its coastal habitat and exotic iguanas eating the plants it needs to reproduce.

It is not difficult to incorporate native species in creating or maintaining your backyard oasis.

 

Hazard lights in the rain: the law explained to Florida drivers

Hazard lights in the rain: the law explained to Florida drivers

Timely reporting during these recent heavy rains. Please know the law. Heavy rains make it difficult to drive, but driving with your flashers only makes a dangerous situation worse. So there you go; driving with flashers is more than just irritating to others, the FHP confirms it is illegal and dangerous.

WPTV.com, Channel 5, reporter Mollie Reynolds reports the facts about driving in the rain in Florida in this news story: The use of hazard lights: The law explained to Florida drivers. 

In Florida, it is illegal to drive with your hazard lights. Hazards lights are for stopped vehicles only, officials say. The one situation where Florida drivers are allowed to use their hazards when in motion is when the vehicle is being used in a funeral procession .  

Flashers are for emergency situations.    

Law enforcement officials say hazard lights can actually reduce visibility making other drivers think you are stopped or stalled.

What should you do when driving in heavy rains? Channel 5’s Mollie Reynolds reports that (the FHP spokesperson) says if visibility is so bad that you cannot see, pull over in a parking lot, plaza or somewhere safe until conditions improve.

Is the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser mistaken? Palmetto Bay's drop is alarming. Is this a signal of the need for change?

I have taken more than a few e-mails and spoken to numerous people on Sunday about my post regarding the release of the estimates of taxable value by the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser. First, let me say that you can post anonymously if you don't want to post under your name, but posting comments to the blog makes the blog more interactive and entertaining, as well as spreads your concerns to all readers.  There, that being taken off my chest, let me say that I too wonder whether the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser is mistaken.

The overall increase in taxable value is 3.1 in the county.  Palmetto Bay sits between Pinecrest which improves by 2.6% and Cutler Bay, which currently mirrors the County average of 3.1%. So then, as it is safely ensconced between these two, how does Palmetto Bay drop from an estimate increase of 2.18 in 2012 to a slight reduction in 2013 of 0.7%. 

Why is Palmetto Bay under performing by (3.8%) against both the County and Cutler Bay and (3.3%) against Pinecrest.

Make no mistake about it, if the figure holds, the projected number will have a profound impact on the 2013-2014 budget.

This is not a foreclosure issue. Foreclosures are happening everywhere. No one area is immune and Palmetto Bay is far from foreclosure central. Homestead may have many, many more foreclosures than Palmetto Bay. I welcome anyone to present an data showing Pinecrest, Coral Gables, the county as a whole, face any less of a foreclosure issue than Palmetto Bay.

As I said in an earlier post, new construction tells a story here: Palmetto Bay is far, far behind all of our neighbors at only $2 million. Coral Gables leads the cities I had listed with $75 Million in new construction. Homestead $31 Million. Pinecrest $28 Million. Cutler Bay and South Miami list $17 million.  (see: The June 2013 Estimates of Taxable Value was released. Gainers for the most part, with a few losers). $2 million has to be wrong. Has Mayor Stanczyk and council been that successful at driving off any development? $2 million? The number is awe inspiring?

There is a council meeting tonight (Monday, June 3, 2013). It would be a good time for the mayor to bring this matter up and discuss the direction this council is taking. She says she and the city are business friendly, but what projects has she led to Palmetto Bay? Sure, she initially cut some ribbons early on in her term as mayor, but all those were projects brought in and started under the prior administration. What has SHE attracted and have in the pipeline that will improve the tax base and, therefore, ease the tax burden on the residential taxpayers.

Instead of attacking all development, we need a council that will go back to properly planning for quality development. There will be a real cost to us, the taxpayers, if we continue down this slope.

Hurricane Prep. Check your status, now that Miami-Dade expanded hurricane evacuation zones

Miami-Dade expands hurricane evacuation zones - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com

What are the new evacuation zones? I recommend that you review the May 3rd, Miami Herald article (click the headline above) and the posted updated evacuation zone maps in order to best prepare for the 2013 hurricane season which just began Saturday, June 1st.

CLICK HERE for a direct link to the Herald online updated evacuation map.