Join Us For An Evening with Former Senator/Governor Bob Graham!

The NEW Self-Proclaimed Urban Cowboy

Passing the Buck is not helping the City of Miami.

With 4 historic openings on the City of Miami Commission (one filled with a swearing in of Carollo), the City is scrambling to fill the remaining 3 seats (one will be decided today with a run-off election).
The Miami Herald said today:
Unable to have a quorum with only two of five commissioners in place, Regalado has asked Crist to intercede and appoint a third commissioner -- which would save Miami hundreds of thousands of dollars for an off-year election.

Crist, however, isn't budging from the stance he took last week, saying there is nothing in Miami's charter that says he should step in.

Crist removed Spence -Jones, accused of stealing funds from a County Grant and Angel Gonzalez was required to resign because of a no-show job with a developer for his daughter.

Last Day to RSVP for UEL Wednesday, 11/18 Dinner

Be sure to RSVP for our dinner today at uelinfo@bellsouth.net. It is our fundraiser to help us do our projects this coming year and it is a painless way to give: You get a delicious dinner and a film with your contribution! Please join us.

Runoff in the City of Miami Tomorrow

Manolo Reyes is at top and Frances Suarez below him. Suarez was endorsed by the Miami Herald. May the best man win! The seat needs to be filled to have a quorum in the City of Miami due to the arrest and removal of Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. Commissioner Angel Gonzalez also agreed to resign today, facing charges. The only Commissioners left on the dais are Marc Sarnoff and the recently sworn in Frank Carollo. 3 makes a quorum in the City.

Just What we Don't Need: More Billboards!! by Hal Birchfield

RE: A NEW COMPANION TO AN ILLEGAL BILLBOARD ON I-95

AN OPEN LETTER TO COMMISSIONER SARNOFF:

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK THAT YOU DO FOR US.

IN THE MAY ISSUE OF THE URBAN FORUM NEWSLETTER FROM THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT LEAGUE, DUSTY MELTON DID A FINE REVIEW ON OUR OUT OF CONTROL BILLBOARD CULTURE, WITH THE NEW EAST OF I-95 BILLBOARD (@ S.W. 1ST STREET & S.W. 2ND AVENUE) AS AN ILLUSTRATION.

ON SUNDAY THE 1ST OF NOVEMBER, I SAW THE NEW COMPANION FOR THE ABOVE MENTIONED BILLBOARD (PHOTO IS ABOVE). HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE TO HAVE THE COMPLETE DOWNTOWN OF OUR CITY COVERED IN THIS TRASH? CAN ALL OF THESE THINGS BE LEGAL?

HERE IS AN IDEA THAT MIGHT HELP- - - WE ALL KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS INSUFFICIENT FUNDS! WHAT IF, WE ENFORCE THE LAWS THAT ARE ON THE BOOKS AND ISSUE FINES TO THESE BLATANT, IN YOUR FACE ILLEGAL BILLBOARD OWNERS? A NOVEL IDEA – COLLECT MONEY FROM THOSE WHO HAVE NO REGARD FOR BREAKING OUR LAWS!

IT HAS BEEN PROVEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THEY WILL PLASTER ANYTHING WITH A BILLBOARD. IN ADDITION, IF THERE IS NOTHING TO PLASTER, THEY WILL ERECT SOMETHING TO PLASTER!

WHY CAN’T WE START CLEANING UP THIS MESS?

I KNOW YOU ARE ADDRESSING MANY, MANY ISSUES THAT BETTERS OUR COMMUNITY. TO BRING UP THIS MATTER DOES NOT MEAN THAT I AM NOT APPRECIATIVE OF ALL YOUR EXCELLENT WORK. HOWEVER, THERE MUST BE SOME WAY TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM.

THANKING YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

SINCERELY,
HAL BIRCHFIELD

STORY IN THE URBAN FORUM BY DUSTY MELTON:

City of Miami Neighborhood Activists Attended the Swearing in of City of Miami Mayor Regalado.

Activists in the City of Miami were on hand to offer congratulations to Mayor Regalado yesterday. After the swearing in there was plenty of paella to go around. Neighborhoods' United Activists: Nina West, Grace Solares, Beba Mann, Judith Sandoval and UEL President Fran Bohnsack.

Elvis Cruz and Steve Hagen. Upper East Side Activists.

Fran Bohnsack with longtime Brickell Activist Tory Jacobs.

Brett Bibeau, Executive Director of the Miami River Commission.

Former UEL Board Member, Gabrielle Redfern, Makes the Miami Beach Runoff.

We are proud to announce that one of our former Board Members is in a run-off for the Group 3 race in Miami Beach against Michael Gongora. We wish them both luck in the election that will be held on November 17th. Redfern did receive the Miami Herald endorsement.

Three Events You Shouldn't Miss!

The Living Green Fair takes place Nov. 14-15 at the John U. Lloyd Beach State Park in Dania Beach. The fair will offer green product demonstrations, discussions by leading experts and activities for children. See their website.

Second, don't miss the UEL Fundraiser Nov. 18th. We try to stay on top of issues and advocate for good policy. This is an opportunity for you to support our cause while getting a great 3 course dinner at the Rusty Pelican and the opportunity to see a provocative film about Carl Fisher, and then hear a critical analysis from your friends and neighbors in the community. RSVP today at uelinfo@bellsouth.net (hit on image below to enlarge it)

Third, we will be hosting former Governor/Senator Bob Graham on December 1st at the Rusty Pelican. Hold the date.

Swearing in of City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado.

Former City of Miami District 4 Commissioner Tomas Regalado will be sworn in as Mayor of Miami during a ceremony on Wednesday, November 11th, at 12 noon, at Miami City Hall.

Enjoy some culture with "Sleepless Night" in Miami Beach

From 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2009, until 7:00 a.m. the next morning, Miami Beach will stay up all night with more than 150 free arts and entertainment events presented at 80 different locations throughout the city. It is called Sleepless Night. You can find all the activities at this link.

Over 100,000 people of all ages will enjoy free museum admissions, indoor and outdoor art installations and performances, architectural tours, dance (and dancing,) theater, music, slam poetry, film, video, fashion, acrobatics, comedy and more, including several unique collaborations and South Florida and world premieres. The City of Miami Beach collaborates with every cultural institution in the city, and with numerous other organizations, businesses and individuals to ensure that Audi Sleepless Night includes all aspects and points of view of what we collectively call “the arts.” Free shuttle buses with onboard arts programming connect the four zones of activity and remote parking for the full 13-hour night.

VOTE TODAY!

To all our neighbors in Homestead, The City of Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah -- Please vote today!

November 18 UEL Fundraiser.

(Hit on image to enlarge it)

To all the Jimbo's lovers in the world... by Jack King

The city of Miami and its minions never cease to amaze me. City Manager Pete Hernandez, who seems to think he is Fidel Castro and Miami is actually Havana, ordered the parks department to start charging people $5. per car for entering the Virginia Key Beach area. On its face there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that, but like everything in Miami there is a back story from many years ago.

About 15 years ago, the city decided to charge for Virginia Key parking and everybody was on board with that program, but there was a hitch. Jimbo's, the venerable waterfront eyesore that has the best smoked fish and the coldest beer,and has more history than all of the rest of Miami, would be severely impacted.

Then Commissioner J.L. Plummer suggested, and the commission adopted by resolution the city allow anyone going to Jimbo's a waiver on the parking fee. It has been that way for years--until this year when our esteemed city manager decided to collect $5 from everyone even though the city commission never changed the resolution. In other words, the city manager overrode the legal will of the commission, and even worse than that, he did it on August 1, fully knowing that the commission would not meet again in regular session until the second Thursday in September. That way the move would be in force for at least 1 1/2 months.

This is not the first time that Hernandez, a Mayor Manny Diaz personal minion, has overruled or ignored commission action. Commissioner Tomas Regalado has been complaining about it for years, but the commission itself has had no spine to do anything about it.

And just for good measure Hernandez threw a red herring into the mix. He ordered Jimbo's to clean up the place and come into code compliance or be shut down, although no one is quite sure what the zoning on Jimbo's is.

I agree that the place could use a little cleanup, but this is Hernandez and it is not about cleanup. It's about harassment. He could have just as easily sent a city official over and had a talk with Jimmy to see what could be done and worked it out quietly. With his arbitrary move Hernandez might have opened a can of worms that he cannot close. And considering the fact that he might not be city manager much longer as mayoral candidate Tomas Regalado, leading in the polls, has vowed to get rid of Hernandez.

What Hernandez doesn't seem to know is that Jimbo's, owned by Jimmy Luznar, and his shrimp boats were a fixture at the old docks behind the property when the Miami Herald bulding sits. The city wanted to redevelop the property in 1954 and summarily ran Jimbo's off without even a kiss. Unfortunately for the city, many of the area's heavy hitter politicians, lawyers, businessmen and movers and shakers bought their bait from Jimbo's before heading out into the ocean for a day's fishing. They were none too pleased when their favorite bait shop was run off by the city.

A group of attorneys, one of whom was the late U. S. Senator George Smathers took the city to task and after several legal rounds where the city was slapped silly, agreed to let Jimbo's set up shop where they are today on Virginia Key. The other part of the deal was that Jimbo's would be give the first shot at a lease on Watson Island when the city developed that property.

That was 1954. 55 years later, Watson Island sits mostly undeveloped. I guess Jimbo's hasn't gotten the call from the city about their new lease on Watson Island.

According to South Florida Business Journal, Don King Had an Interest in Virginia Key

South Florida Business Journal - by Oscar Pedro-Musibay

Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones has sought private investors, including boxing promoter Don King, to partner with the city in creating a destination on Virginia Key that would help to pay for operations of a planned museum.

Don King met over the summer with officials of the Virginia Key Park Trust and a Spence-Jones staffer to discuss the Key, which was once a black-only beach.

The idea of developing a hotel came up, but the suggestion never got past the idea stage, said
David Shorter, the trust’s executive director.

Although the meeting took place several months ago, King’s interest in the developing part of Virginia Key only recently came to light after an anonymous e-mail was sent to various media, including the Business Journal, that included allegations against Spence-Jones and her family.
The sender did not respond to a request for information about the motive behind the e-mail’s timing.

The commissioner, who is running for re-election, would not comment on the personal allegations, but did explain King’s interest in the key.

The e-mail included an allegation that King made a deal with Spence-Jones to give her a portion of a hotel development on Virginia Key. Spence-Jones denied the allegation and said her motivation was purely tied to helping develop a museum there and the park’s overall mission of financial self-sustainability.

“There was never any type of agreement or understanding regarding Spence-Jones receiving anything from it,” she said. “I’m not crazy. That would land me in jail.”

Spence-Jones also has connected the trust with other high-profile players in entertainment who might help the trust generate funds for the museum and other expenses.

Another person who toured the site was high-profile entertainment attorney L. Londell McMillan, who has represented Prince, Stevie Wonder, Spike Lee, Michael Jackson and Kanye West. Shorter said that McMillan suggested developing retail on the site and was going to run the opportunity by some investors, but again the conversations did not turn into a proposal.

Onetime Essence Magazine editor and current real estate investor Susan L. Taylor also toured Virginia Key. Her vision for development involved building high-priced homes there, but that would have been in conflict with a county prohibition on erosion of the area’s environment. If certain county rules are violated, development and control of Virginia Key would revert to Miami-Dade County.

“The people that come here want to not buy into the history of the facility,” Shorter said. “What they want really to do is put structures here. There is a reverter [clause] that if it is not maintained as a park, it reverts to the county.”

Not so, says Spence-Jones, who maintains there is some flexibility in the county rules that would allow restaurants, a hotel and other development to coexist with the park.

Spence-Jones said there has to be a compromise between the environment, and the financial needs of the museum and the park or the vision for Virginia Key could die.

“There are several people that I pushed through,” said Spence-Jones, referring to King, McMillan and others. “It was about anybody that I knew that had the resources, that had the contacts to assist with the Key, to help redevelop it.”

The Urban Environment League Supported the Preservation of Hialeah Park

Hialeah Park was facing a development plan when activists got active. UEL Board Member Alex Fuentes and Hialeah residents, Milly Herrara and Janet Diaz took the lead fighting the mixed use development slated for Hialeah's jewel, the horse racing park famous for its flamingos. UEL President Nancy Liebman and other Board Members met with Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina, stressing the historical significance of the park. The UEL also participated in rallies at the padlocked gates.

Mayor Robaina was given the UEL Orchid award that year for his effort to save the park.

Today, the Miami Herald reported the park is slated for a November reopening (there is a video at this link):

For eight long years, Hialeah Park was a historic landmark in hibernation -- its future in doubt, its famous Renaissance Revival architecture slowly fading away.

These days, Hialeah Park is busy. Busy, busy, busy.

Armed with its new quarter-horse permit -- and racing dates approved this week by the state -- Hialeah Park is gearing up for a Nov. 28 reopening.

The post card is from Don Boyd's collection of historical photos of Hialeah Park.