It’s been relatively quiet on the political home front, except the newest commissioner, Gabriel Edmond, who flipped flopped on his vote about giving FPL a 30 year deal. First, Commissioner Gabriel tried to get the mayor to change the order in which the commissioners voted on the matter. But King Phil, the current mayor, wouldn’t have that occur in his house.
So, the King, in his own special way, reminded Gabriel that the mayor calls the order of the vote. Gabriel, who was not quite sure on which side he was, initially voted for it and then switched his vote. As things would have it, four of our illustrious representatives voted for the long term deal.
Gabriel, who wanted to stand out and show who was really the new buck in town and is n o b o d y ’ s flunky, became the lone dissenter. Good for you Gabriel! It’s just too bad that those anti- FPL commissioners didn’t vote the way they wanted too, but voted for FPL, cuz they were get- ting squeezed. And BTW, I’ve been told that Phil was totally against the very long 30 year deal, but voted for it anyway and promised never to do it again. Now isn’t that just peachy.
And speaking of just peachy keen, what the heck is going on with the city and the charter school on SW 68 St? It seems as though the city has finally and I mean finally, figured out the exact percentage of local kids that are going to the school.
And for the sake of this conversation, “LOCAL” means the African-American kids from the poor area. I saw the figures the other day and they are way out of whack, considering where the school is located, which is right smack in the middle of the poorest part of South Miami. NO aspersions being cast from this angle, because I’ll just betcha that the number of local kids that applied to the school is very low.
It’s a family thing: Dr. Eric Cohen is smiling these days as his son, Scott, who recently became a chiropractor, has joined his practice, the Cohen Chiropractic Wellness Center on SW 97 Ave.
Scott said that “following his father’s path into chiropractic healthcare was an easy choice, as I became inspired to help people while spending time at his dad’s office watching him work with patients that often included young children.
“You could say that I was born into it” the younger Dr. Cohen said looking up at a framed photograph of himself at age 2 receiving an adjustment from his dad.
And BTW, father and son are both graduates of Logan University’s College of Chiropractic, located in Chesterfield, MO.
If you would like to talk to either Dr. Cohen, they may be reached at 305-274- 2888 or visit online at www.cohenchiropractic.com.
The Miami-Dade County Commission honored WPLG Channel 10 Reporter Glena Milberg and others from the station for their work in creating a park in a much needed area of the county and Commissioner Jean Monestime did the honors in the commission chambers. The local community is ecstatic with the new Gratigny Plateau Park. Milberg, is a veteran county hall reporter and during the ceremonies she bravely stood in the well with the county commissioners.
State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D Miami is being challenged by GOP candidate Daniel Diaz Leyva in a tough fought race that has the candidates going after each other and in many attack campaign flyers by both men who are attorneys. The House Dist. 112 is a swing district and Diaz Leyva is getting support from long serving GOP Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen, R-Miami and former Congressman Adam Putnam in the state House race. Rodriguez won the House seat when he defeated Alex Diaz de La Portilla in 2012, when he got 54 percent of the vote over the former state senator. But there was significant controversy with DLP, that is not the case in this current race and insiders consider the race a toss-up and will depend on Democratic Party voter’s turnout.
The Chamber South – South Miami Art Festival is coming into town once again. This great event will be celebrating its 43rd year of bringing all types of fine art, music, food and fun. So come on down Saturday, Nov. 1st & Sunday Nov. 2 to Sunset Drive and spend a couple of hours with your family. Make sure to bring lots of money to buy all types of great things.
And speaking of Chamber South, on Oct 22 at 7:15am, the newly elected County Commissioner, Daniella Levine Cava will be the guest speaker at the General Membership meeting at the Miami Dadeland Mariott. It’s probably a good idea to RSVP and you can do that online at chambersouth.com or call them at 305-661-1621.
For the 3rd consecutive year, Jackson Health System is in the surplus. Jackson Health System CEO, Migoya, says if this was said in the past, “people would have assumed we were all crazy.” He tells Trust board after major concessions from union employees over the years. Migoya noted that a major tactical marketing initiative was paying off and that there were, “30 deliveries at the hospital.” He mentioned that in the past, this number was much less in such a time frame but was now being promoted by the health system.
When it comes to the Florida Sunshine Law, passed by the state’s voters, the governor’s office and local municipalities, they need to lift their game when it comes to the compliance issue in a reasonable time. For it is the law and if you don’t like it, don’t run for office and go to the private sector where you don’t have to worry about such pesky details.
Stonewalling or denying emails are the wrong answer, especially when elected leaders are always harping about “transparency” and open government but do everything they can to prevent this. It is wrong and just further creates more distrust of their public institutions and how people are governed. Some politicians from both parties hate this law. If that’s the case, then don’t run for office for that is the way it is and whining about public access to documents and emails is not unreasonable, especially when public dollars are involved. It just makes the whole institution they represent look bad, petty and incompetent and that reflects on the elected leaders as well, which many of them fail to realize to their detriment.
(These last few pieces were provided by www.watchdogreport.com).
Got any tips? Contact me at 305-669-7355, ext. 249, or send emails to Michael@communitynewspapers.com.
