In May of 2016, Palmetto Bay resident Julia Cespedes lost her dog, Aurora, and posted on social media sites including Facebook, in order to find her. This was the beginning of a new path for Julia, who was finishing a Doctorate program for Higher Education Administration Leadership at Nova Southeastern University.
“I got familiar with several Palmetto Bay-centric Facebook groups and pages and was dissatisfied with the way community information was being presented and talked about. Some of it was biased. Some of it was downright false,” explained Cespedes. “I didn’t know who to believe. And even more disturbing, what I was witnessing was adult cyber-bullying.”
Julia believed the criticism and instant judgement of others online was rather distasteful and felt she could probably do a better job by starting her own open and public forum. So, late last year Facebook group Palmetto Bay Leadership thru Transparency (facebook.com/groups/1104399592987644) was born. Its mission is to research, find the truth, silence the bullies and address the many ongoing issues in Palmetto Bay.
“I use Google, request information from the Village and attend tons of meetings in order to share pertinent documents with the people of Palmetto Bay. I’ve lived here 20 years and never realized just how much I was missing,” said Cespedes.
She points out that most people just don’t have the time to do what she is doing.
“They are taking their kids to ball games, tutors, etc. In fact,” Julia remarked, “I learned that only 18 percent of people are even remotely political or aware of the politics in their community. That’s good for politicians, giving them less to worry about, but it’s not usually good for the rest of us.”
Cespedes voluntarily spends around 15 hours a week on her fact-finding mission, getting involved with the Village of Palmetto Bay through information inquiries at Village Hall and attending various committees, workshops and Council meetings.
“I wanted to understand why and how our taxpayer money was being spent. I also wanted to understand how individual Council members voted, and what trends I could find,” she said. “A lot of my Doctorate program focuses on leadership skills and the importance of transparency. And when I went online to the known sources of information, I felt it hard to find the transparent information that the public should legally be entitled to.”
When Julia would go to the other Facebook pages, she felt the discussion was critical of certain Council members and promoted bias rather than a healthy exchange of truthful documents and records. “So, I started posting hard-to-find ordinances, resolutions or past meeting minutes in my Facebook page to allow people to discover what was actually happening.”
Cespedes feels she and other people should make their opinion by discovering and using facts themselves instead of listening to the loudest mouth. She wishes misinformation would go away. She also feels that during election years, lies often steer people to vote for the wrong candidates. “I have researched voting trends and our Village history to see why certain Council members may not be acting with their constituents’ best interests in mind.”
One of the biggest topics that has been on the minds of Palmetto Bay residents since incorporation in 2002 is the Downtown Urban Village development. Julia is concerned that the progress has been altered due to a select few personalities and that the other 24,000 residents are being affected in ways they can’t even comprehend. Again, Cespedes is working on providing information in an authentic way so that the true voice of the people can guide the future of Village development.
Julia has been called the Village fact-checker, Palmetto Bay’s conscience and the information broker. Her reaction is to say, “It’s certainly gotten much easier to research as I went along. When people ask for things, I usually know the path that will produce documented, true results. So, yeah, I don’t mind being called any of those things.”
Knowledge is power and Julia is amassing lots of knowledge. So does she feel powerful? “No, I just feel like I am getting the information out there. It’s up to individuals to then use the information in a powerful way.”
Cespedes says the largest issue Palmetto Bay faces is moving forward with the Downtown Urban Village plan. “People don’t realize just how severely our commercial tax base is receding,” explains Julia. “Without those dollars, Palmetto Bay can’t support the many resources and services they currently provide. We’re headed in a bad direction for homeowners.”
In the next issue of the Pinecrest Tribune, we’ll dig into several specific issues Julia has researched and shed transparency upon. We’ll also explore the possibility of Julia attracting negative attention as a result of her fact finding.
Trattoria Romanza Closes
There were few local restaurants that could match up to the Italian dishes served at Romanza. Ana Maria and Fernando Cortez were owners of this favorite Palmetto Bay haunt that closed abruptly on April 27.
Among those dining on the final night were Pinecrest regulars Bill and Barbara Sussman who said, “This was a warm and comfortable place with good food, reasonable prices and attentive owners. We are sorry to see them go.”
I was lucky enough to meet up with Mayor Eugene Flinn, his wife, Peter and June England, my parents and my wife to dine one final meal here.
Palmetto Bay has lost a great meeting place and a part of their community. The owners are looking for another location and hope to re-open somewhere in South Florida.
Real Estate Update
As of May 4, the Pinecrest market stayed soft as sales fell 19.7 percent. In Pinecrest homes listed over $1M, there is now 14 months of inventory, down slightly but still a strong Buyers market. It’s tough out there if you’re a Seller. No matter where you live, let me assist you with local expertise, realistic expectations and guidance to get you to wherever ‘next’ is. It’s easy to get started at miamihal.com/myvalue
Hal Feldman (MiamiHal) is a Realtor with RE/MAX Advance Realty. You can contact him with your story ideas or real estate questions at www.MiamiHal.com, Hal@MiamiHal.com or www.facebook.com/MiamiHal.
Mr. Feldman, Don’t forget the alcohol induced fight involving Councilman David Singer in July 2017! https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/People-Involved-in-Boat-Dock-Fight-With-Palmetto-Bay-Councilman-Speaking-Out-437036183.html
Dominic Sam just dropped some serious accusations! The arrest record is not false information as you can see Julia’s mugshot with very little research online. The other accusation of being a cyber bully is also true as I have witnessed it myself on social media. The final accusation of having a love affair may or may not be true but it is interesting to say the least!
Wow… I just spoke with Sam. He was not even awake at 6am, so someone is posting fake information, and using someone else’s name to do it. Very deceitful for someone trying to smear someone else’s name. That original comment should be deleted.
The comment is completely false. Posted by someone without any real info.
Fake news!
Mr. Feldman, Would it be asking too much for you to update your article about the “Conscience of Palmetto Bay” Ms. Cespedes who is against “Adult Cyber Bullying” according to the article but has no issue with Bullying her Adult Husband per the arrest record, or verbally abusing members of her Forum which she disagrees with?. Another important fact left out is that on Ms. Cespedes Blog one of the Moderators is her Paramour who is a very noteworthy public figure. Together these two are operating a Quasi shadow government via this blog which squashes any Dissent or public opinion against certain Council members. If you did just a little homework you would discover these facts unless of course you are a part of the group of deceivers. https://www.rapsheets.org/florida/miami-jail/CESPEDES_JULIA/170152424 https://www.jailbase.com/en/arrested/fl-mdc/2017-07-21/julia-marie-cespedes-144532988