Like many of you, I woke up at an ungodly hour this morning—worrying about the economy, the financial markets, and the future.br /spanbr /To think: less than five years ago, then governor Jeb Bush gushed to the assembled Tallahassee audience of his final inauguration, “There will be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we can make these buildings around us empty of workers; as silent monuments to the time when government played a larger role than it deserved or could adequately fill.” br /br /Today, the only robust sector of the economy is government employment. br /br /The stock markets have already given back all the growth of the bull run that began in 2002 and much of the gains from the late 1990’s. br /br /The number of industries begging to be bailed out reads like a catalogue of campaign donors to Jeb’s inaugural ball; the production home builders, the auto manufacturers, and finance companies.br /br /On the same day that the CEO’s of Detroit’s Big Three flew private jets home, having been refused a blank check for $25 billion to resurrect the failing businesses, the New York Times quotes David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, describing the newly elected chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Henry Waxman as an “irrational environmental zealot.”br /br /Who is more irrational: an elected official who believes the way to the future of a moribund, bankrupt automotive industry is providing clean green cars that consumers want, or, executives who spent decades fending off regulations in favor of the free market and beg for federal bailouts after they failed?br /br /In fact, what has disappeared in the carnage of the nation's economic crisis--a "once in a hundred year event", according to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson yesterday-- is the zealotry of the Reagan Revolution; described simply as the fuel of the Bush era.br /br /I’m afraid that “Bonfire of the Vanities” was only a warm-up for today’s events. The de-leveraging of titanic debt structures has just started. One way or another, the financial system is vomiting its toxins. That's an involuntary reaction of the free market.br //span

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSYcKMT-rDI/AAAAAAAAD94/tSDVv0zf9p4/s1600-h/Greer+Margolis.jpg"img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSYcKMT-rDI/AAAAAAAAD94/tSDVv0zf9p4/s400/Greer+Margolis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270931375313038386" //aI believe we have to vote for Gwen. Not one Greenberg Trauig Attorney gave to her campaign. That is a very good sign. Vile Natacha Seijas is supporting her opponent. He is actually too nice, I would say meek even. I think he will come under Natacha's thumb. The commissioners will dominate him. He doesn't know what he is in for. Gwen, on the other hand is as tough as nails, bitchy, she will be Natacha's worst nightmare. Tell your friends to vote for Gwen Margolis if she doesn't win her a href="http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2008/11/property-appraiser-runoff-plot-thickens.html"lawsuit on Tuesday./a Her opponent might have property appraiser experience but this is as much about politics as it is about being a property appraiser. Send your friends this blog.br /br /Here are some of my comments to the Miami Herald on this subject:spanbr /br / Margolis raised $194,622 ($241,000 was 3 loans to her campaign from herself) for a total of $435,622. Garcia raised $27,550 ($10,000 loan to himself) for a total of $37,550. Miller West and Coral West Plaza gave to both Natacha's campaign and Garcia's. Aside from that, Garcia's contributions were NOT the usual suspects. More of the people on Natacha's campaign report gave to Shedd (who did not make the runoff). Margolis' report was top heavy with attorneys, many from the Bilzin Sumberg firm. I did not see as many developers as I would have expected, certainly not even close to what you find on a typical Miami Dade County Commissioner campaign report.br /br /First, Miami Herald: Why are you censoring me? Every time I write Natacha's last name you will not let me print. You make good points Gitgoe and Miaryder (other people who made comments). I don't like the big bucks either. However, one of the BEST and most effective property appraisers in Florida is Lori Parrish, who was a county commissioner in Broward with no property appraiser experience. Perhaps being an appraiser previously is not the only qualification we should be looking at. We don't want someone who can be manipulated by the County Commission. Here is what the Herald had to say: "Mr. Garcia has a levelheadedness about him that instills confidence. In addition to running his family-owned real-estate firm, Mr. Garcia has served as a special magistrate of the county's Value Adjustment Board. His experience in property appraisal is steep. Ms. Margolis' years of service, however, plus her lengthy real-estate career and six years chairing the Value Adjustment Board, tip the scales in her favor."br /br /I think Gwen has found an interesting loophole. Our Charter is being used by the County Commission against us. It is refreshing to see someone dishing it back to the Commission. I haven't had this much pleasure since David Dermer won his lawsuit against the commission on petitions. They thought they were pulling a fast one here and it has backfired on them. I WANT to see this lawsuit. To me it is not about the property appraiser, I really don't care about that, it is more about the power struggle and how our charter has been warped by a select few county commissioners. They cling to power and thought this elected position would be taking power from the Mayor. Let them have a dose of their own medicine. At least she can afford to fight them, like Norman Braman. We just get screwed with no recourse except petitions. Do you know that you don't have to get state petitions notarized but with county petitions you do? They have made the process impossible.br //span

The weather's been pleasantly brisk in the mornings, and the Carbonell Committee's given all of us the cold shoulder, but things are still cooking on the South Florida Theatre Scene. the reviews The reviews this week start with Kevin D. Thompson's review of Noises Off at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre for the Palm Beach Post. If the top-notch cast of Noises Off had any difficulty bringing Michael

a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IftODpXVJO0/SSY0nbpbRLI/AAAAAAAADLw/0XrNGUINw4Q/s1600-h/souk.jpg"img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IftODpXVJO0/SSY0nbpbRLI/AAAAAAAADLw/0XrNGUINw4Q/s400/souk.jpg" alt="" border="0" //a

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSWjTH0sIPI/AAAAAAAAD9w/i1ReSzoxEZI/s1600-h/Miami+Dade+planning+advisory+board+members.jpg"img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSWjTH0sIPI/AAAAAAAAD9w/i1ReSzoxEZI/s200/Miami+Dade+planning+advisory+board+members.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270798487819919602" //aMembers of the Miami Dade County Planning Advisory Board and who appointed them: Reginald Clyne (Edmonson), Antonio Fraga (Barreiro), Pamela Gray (Sorenson) VOTED AGAINST PARKLAND, Horacio Carlos Huembes (At Large), Rolando Iglesias (Souto), Eddy Joachin (Jordan), Daniel Kaplan (Martinez), Serafin Leal (Diaz), Al Maloof (Rolle), William W. Riley (At Large), Wayne Rinehart (Sosa), Georgina Santiago (At Large), Christi Sherouse (Gimenez)VOTED AGAINST PARKLAND, Jay Sosna (Moss) VOTED AGAINST PARKLAND, Felipe Llanos (Seijas).br /Hit on graphic to enlarge it.br /spanbr //span

Some people are burying their cash in backyards. The wealthiest developers in Miami are burying their cash in a plan to build a small city in 2014 at the far western frontier of Miami-Dade County edging toward the Everglades called Parkland.br /br /Into the headwind of the biggest crash in housing values since the Depression, the owners of Parkland are winding their way through Florida's planning approval process, mis-named generically "growth management". To understand how poorly the public interest is served by Florida's growth rules, you need patience and a willingness to follow the worst forms of development through the permitting process to conclusion.br /br /For citizens, it is a very arcane subject: who has the time or patience to excavate through the seeming organization of growth management rules? Who can sift through the rubble of self-serving justifications and insufficient half-measures hurrying to be filed away in boxes in storage warehouses once litigation is settled and profits have been banked? br /br /Today, Parkland is 1,000 acres of farmland outside the Urban Development Boundary, purchased at exorbitant prices during the frenzy of the late, great building boom. If the politically connected developers have their way; that farmland will both be a small city of 18,000 residents and an attractor of suburban sprawl in the last remaining farmland in Miami-Dade County.br /br /Of the citizen advocates in favor of the development, scrounged up to appear at County Hall yesterday, one spoke exactly to the reason to prevent bad development from encroaching toward Everglades "restoration": the young woman who may or may not have lived in the area of concern testified, "There is nothing out there." In other words, give us something more than row crops for vegetables, or tropical fruit, or avocado groves; when I have children I want parks, schools, and movie theaters. (Please click on "read more".)br /spanbr /Today, only a few miles from Parkland is some of the worst and most egregious examples of suburban sprawl in the nation. People stuck in cars, in unremitting traffic, in flood plains served by inadequate infrastructure, with mounting fees and taxes tend to think that these are all the inevitable costs of progress; they are not. They are the function of very deliberate decisions that socialize the risk of bad planning in order to maximize the profits of developers and the entire supply chain of the real estate industry; from the lowest rung of local zoning to the highest ether of Wall Street where laying off risk is an opportunity for wealth generation through the securitization of debt, including projects like Parkland and dozens of others.br /br /Who needs legalized gambling when the odds of winning have been so stacked in favor of turning farmland into suburban sprawl? But I'm jumping ahead of myself.br /br /Parkland was the big show in the main ring of yesterday's Planning Advisory Board (PAB) meeting in downtown Miami. The board is comprised of political appointees, representing the thirteen single member districts in Miami-Dade County. They are appointed by the county commission, and in their demeanor and performance represent the composition of the unreformable majority of the county commission; whose incumbency and insularity is as guaranteed as AAA rated debt by Moodys so long as the campaign finance system is dominated by interests who profit from zoning decisions in farmland; interests, in other words, like Parkland.br /br /The PAB is only one step on the way to approval, but an important one leading to a vote by the full county commission in a few weeks.br /br /By the time the Parkland proposal was heard, it was nearly one in the afternoon; most of the assembled crowd at County Hall had been in their russet movie-style seats since early morning. In one section, African Americans suporting the project who had little to gain or to show for the day but a few dollars and a dinner for coming. In another section, Hispanic advocates who similarly earned more than goodwill for their presence. Few had a clue what they were bearing witness to, nor apparently did the mainstream media in attendance.br /br /Their presence was for the public record; for the former, in the eventual case of lawsuits against the plan, and for the latter--the media--, another chance to miss reporting the origins of the housing debacle. br /br /Scattered throughout, a handful of civic minded and conservationists convinced--with good reason--that putting 18,000 more residents in the position to demand more flood control is another nail in the Everglades coffin, whose nails already weigh in aggregate more than the coffin itself. None, however, mentioned that 2014 is within one mortgage cycle of sea level rise predicted for South Florida.br /br /The public hearing unfolded as an entirely pro forma routine, a charade of well-rehearsed places. Why should such a predetermined outcome take hours to complete, when judging from the result, the votes of the board members could have been as easily submitted scribbled on post-it-notes at the rise of the sun?br /br /Parkland is only a few miles from Everglades National Park, the centerpiece of the largest environmental restoration effort in history. Already, $8 billion has been spent on various pieces that may or may not connect up to anything that looks like a tangible result, depending mostly on whether big industrial-scale projects like Parkland or a massive "inland port" planned for western Palm Beach County take root in the landscape before anything resembling restoration takes place.br /br /A day earlier, at a meeting in Tavernier at the head of the Florida Keys a meeting of Everglades agency staffers allowed a reporter to write, "The first eight years of a two-decade schedule to restore the Everglades and Florida Bay have produced few tangible changes, experts acknowledged Tuesday." Not that any of the Parkland developer have much to boast of, of their own industry's tangible results in the past eight years.br /br /If the record of the last eight years is bad for the Everglades, it is actually worse for production home builders like those assembled under the corporate partnership of Parkland. The entire business model for sprawl has disappeared, vanished in the flames of a financial crisis. What the last eight years and previous decades in places like Parkland disclose are the drainage canals supported by Congress and farms and land speculators and property rights activists and new homeowners, oblivious to the lost record of natural history, taxpayers logging countless, unquestioned hours stuck in traffic, left with infrastructure deficits following the march of tarmac, of strip malls, office parks, and gated communities westward. The few and the lucky banked a lot of money on the back of such results in Florida, Arizona, in California and Colorado; the fast growing regions now at the epicenter of crashing housing markets.br /br /Lacking any other idea how to reclaim their investment, Parkland's owners are pushing forward on a wing and a prayer that what doesn't work in 2008 will rise Pheonix-like in 2014.br /br /The PAB meeting took hours to complete, with approval assured by the developers' lobbyists who watched the proceedings on live video feed; Ramon Rasco, former organizer of the Homestead Air Force Base fiasco and chairman of US Century Bank, Sergio Pino, Ed Easton, both Bush loyalists, and Rodney Barreto, Governor Charlie Crist's appointed chair of the Florida Wildlife Commission. All, members of good standing in the Latin Builders Association, the South Florida Builders Association, the National Association of Homebuilders, the Chamber of Commerce, and appealing charities.br /br /Parkland is being called a "green" development. But it is "green" the way that a chameleon is green in the grass. It is green by folding its nature to camoflague its real interests. At this point in nation's narrative, being green is a good way to play into the mainstream without attracting attention to the fact that the very developers who used politics to inflate the toxic housing bubble in Florida need another tactic to pump the air back into ether.br /br /County planning staff-- all good and solid professionals -- advised the Planning Advisory Board to deny the project. But the minds of the appointees had been made up long before the meeting began, never mind what the professionals had to say in objection. When the public hearing was closed it was clear that the appointees minds had been closed long before it even began.br /br /After all, even if the 18,000 future residents never materialize, or materialize only in small numbers, someone will need to do their accounting work, the real estate deeds and titles, someone will need to lay the water pipe, and if it's not me--the thinking goes-- then there are always other government agencies whose approval is more necessary than mine. br /br /It didn't used to be this way, in Florida's growth planning regime. In the late 1990's, the developer driven Florida legislature approved the following damaging change to Florida law: allowing major projects like Parkland, called "developments of regional impacts" or DRI's to proceed at the same time and on the same permitting path as changes to the local jurisdiction's master plan. The way it had been was to require the details of the DRI to be disclosed to the public first, through a series of public hearings and planning thresholds. Only after the details had been thoroughly disclosed was the developer, then, allowed to apply for a change to the local zoning and master plan map. br /br /Now, the development industry is "allowed" to police itself through the permitting process; assuring in the early stages like the planning advisory board meeting that all the details will be ironed out through consultations and in collaboration with dozens of government agencies-- though it is known full well that once the political process of development approval is set in motion by affirmative votes, all the rest is muscle.br /br /The planning board member representing the district in question, Jay Sosna, offered a motion to "deny and not transmit", that would have had the effect of shutting down Parkland. Sosna tried to alert his colleagues on the dais to the burden of congested roadways in the area, the plight of commuters who spend up to three hours a day in cars commuting twenty miles to work downtown and back at night, but his words dropped like a stone in a well.br /br /The motion to deny and not transmit failed on a count of 7-3. A second motion, by Al Maloof, to "approve and transmit" was quickly approved by the same margin. It was over.br /br /The matter is headed to a public hearing on December 18th at the full county commission. The outcome is likely to be approval or the developers would not be marching forward. The only drama left is whether the Parkland will emerge with a margin of victory to override a mayoral veto, by Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez.br /br /It is dispiriting to see how these predetermined outcomes rule the day, even in the teeth of the worst housing market crash since the Depression. That, of course, is not a point of view shared with the public by the mainstream media: who better to shill for the fallen than representatives of the fallen?br /br /The only frisson during the entire afternoon occurred when, after the public hearing had closed, a representative of the planning department stepped forward to offer an analysis of the alarming rate of foreclosures in the county. It was a point that several of opponents had emphasized from the speaker's podium, to refute the need for more housing. Tens of thousands of foreclosures dot Miami's urban landscape, within the Urban Development Boundary; why build more until all the available housing is absorbed by the marketplace?br /br /The developer's main argument--faulty statistics by county planners in assessing available housing stock to the year 2018 --is wrecked by the volume of foreclosures and abandoned homes in Miami Dade. This moment of reality intruding was more than the Parkland lobbyists could bear. br /br /You had to be in the front row to witness what happened, when county staff introduced a matter off the meticulously planned script for the proceeding, planned by a dozen highly paid lobbyists, lawyers, engineers and planners. It was as though an Indian had stepped off the Reservation. Suddenly, the lobbyists began squirming. Jeffrey Bercow, the developer's lead lawyer/lobbyist, standing watch at the podium began stiffening in several directions at once, attracting the attention of his allies on the dais. The chair of the Planning Advisory Board, compliant to a fault, quickly shut down the offending voice, cutting him off less than a minute into his explanation, in mid sentence.br /br /In the end, not even a Depression could obstruct the approval of more suburbs edging to the Everglades.br /br /The end game for Parkland may be predicted by events unfolding in an administrative law court room, with respect to two 2005 applications to move the Urban Development Boundary; the county commission approved, the mayor vetoed, the commission over-rode, the state of Florida rejected, and in a few weeks those applications are headed to court and possibly, later, to the 3rd District Court of Appeals where they would be heard by a panel of judges appointed by the governor.br /br /Here is the bottom line: the Miami-Dade County Commission is being used as a cudgel to beat up on the office of the governor, lead today by the amiable Charlie Crist, and the state planning agency. Notwithstanding Crist's eternally sunny disposition, the enmity is the smoldering remnant of Jeb Bush's two terms as governor, largely supported by Miami-Dade's developers like the owners of Parkland. br /br /But times changed. The lead corporate partner of Parkland is Lennar Homes, a shrunken production home builder leading the charge to Congress, grousing for subsidies and bailouts. Lennar and its private partners are determined to party on like it was 2005, with taxpayers help. It used to be called the free market.br /br /There is no better argument for Florida Hometown Democracy--a citizen's petition initiative to amend the Florida constitution giving voters a choice and vote on projects like Parkland-- than spending a few hours listening and watching the Kabuki Theater that passes for growth management in Florida. But the owners of Parkland hear the drumbeat, and if they have their way--and if bankruptcy doesn't come first--Parkland will be on the books and grandfathered before Florida Hometown Democracy is on the ballot.br /span

a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IftODpXVJO0/SSTziMcbs2I/AAAAAAAADLo/H-WuBnBkkKI/s1600-h/professional-blackbook_prev.jpg"img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IftODpXVJO0/SSTziMcbs2I/AAAAAAAADLo/H-WuBnBkkKI/s400/professional-blackbook_prev.jpg" alt="" border="0" //a

I missed the first announcement about the Carbonell Fiasco. I was working on the Two Playhouses story, and then realized I was late to The Poker Game. The Game has had many iterations over the years; players have come and gone. The current version features me, Character Actor, Young Actor, Stage Manager, Musical Director (doesn't actually play), #1 Theatre Fan, and Drummer. The drummer is the

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSTAVY78XVI/AAAAAAAAD9g/hf79yn-kM5Q/s1600-h/County+Commissier+Bruno+Barreiro.jpg"img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSTAVY78XVI/AAAAAAAAD9g/hf79yn-kM5Q/s400/County+Commissier+Bruno+Barreiro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270548937633979730" //aWell this certainly sucks - Dim County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, a member of the unreformable majority, put this on the agenda for November 20th:br /br /BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: br /Section 1. Section 2-11.1(t) (Cone of Silence) of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, as amended by Ordinance No. 08-111, spanis hereby repealed in its entirety. /spanbr /br /Well, we all know that SOME of the Commissioners didn't follow it but it was still a good idea because it is suppose to "protect the professional integrity of the procurement process by shielding it from undue influences prior to the recommendation of contract award."br /br /This is the description from the County website: It is the policy of Miami-Dade County that a “Cone of Silence” be established on all County competitive selection processes including:br /spanbr /Request for Proposals (RFPs),br /Requests for Qualifications (RFQs), andbr /Bids for the provision of goods and services.br /The Cone of Silence prohibits any communication regarding a particular RFP, RFQ or bid solicitation after they have been advertised. This Cone of Silence is designed to protect the professional integrity of the procurement process by shielding it from undue influences prior to the recommendation of contract award.br /br /It establishes a disciplinary and/or penalty process for those who violate the Cone of Silence.br /br /The Cone of Silence is terminated at the time when the County Manager issues a written recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners, or at the time when the issuing department issues its written recommendation to the Manager when the award is within the Manager’s delegated authority.br //span

A little beauty bonus for you gals out there:br /Thursday November 20 is Customer Appreciation Day at Van Michael Miami salon. The Salon will be offering:br / * 20% discount on Aveda productsbr / * With a purchase of $50 or more in product Receive Aveda’s Triple Happiness Gift Setbr / * $15 off Damage Remedy Hair Spa Treatment (Usually $26)br /a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.vanmichael.com/miami-salon/%20"Van Michael Miami/abr /1667 Michigan Avenuebr /Miami Beach, FL 33139br /305.534.6789

I just spent about an hour looking at the Miami Dade County website for past minutes and the membership of the Miami Dade Planning Advisory Board. I could not find the information. This Board meets this morning. I know the information is hidden away somewhere on their site.br /br /Miami Dade County has the WORST "search" of any website I have ever seen. I use google search because of this deficit. I was on the Planning and Zoning page and still could not find what I was looking for: past minutes or members. I was going to list the membership for you today but I need your help to get the information. I give up, the County drives me crazy. Read Gimleteye's post yesterday.br /spanbr //span

Last week, I discussed some of the problems with the deal being made to purchase contaminated farm land from US Sugar in Bend Over: They're Not Done Screwing You.Well, I wasn't kidding.The Sun-Sentinel reports that the very first bid by the state of $1.75 billion was $400 million to high to start with....the New York financial firm Duff Phelps - hired to render a "fairness" opinion on the

Trent Kendall was an intern at the Burt Reynold's Jupiter Theatre, back when I started my technical career in earnest. He's gone on to make quite a career for himself since then. You can read his resume on his very slick website. Other interns in that group include Margot Moreland, who has continued working in South Florida Theatre, and Anastasia Barzee, who has worked extensively on Broadway.

I will be including these in this week's Scene, but I also wanted to get the links up so people can find them. Mostly because Noises' Off closes this Sunday. Kevin D. Thompson of the Palm Beach Post reviewed Noises Off at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre. By the way, there is a post performance discussion with the cast of the show on November 20. Frederick/Philip (Donald Carrier) loses his

a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSM9gyG0a_I/AAAAAAAAD9Q/MQA_GggKCXc/s1600-h/ronbook.JPG"img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSM9gyG0a_I/AAAAAAAAD9Q/MQA_GggKCXc/s320/ronbook.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270123622369094642" //abr /br /Knowing me, you might have figured this photo has been photo-shopped to make Ron Book look like a foolish despot. After 38 years of lobbying, I guess one might feel Kingly. br /br /In fact, I didn't photoshop this, Lobbyist Ron Book actually posed for the photo and that is his own prop: An Olympic torch. I found the picture in "Cravings of Aventura." His 120 clients must be proud of their Ron, the lobbyist!br /spanbr //span

The Planning Advisory Board, appointed by Miami Dade county commissioners, is meeting tomorrow at 9:30 AM to consider the Parkland 2014 development of regional impact. Come downtown to County Hall and see your government in action.br /br /If Florida Hometown Democracy had been allowed on the state-wide ballot, the decision for Parkland would have gone before the entire electorate of Miami Dade county, not wind its way to the county commission. But the builders and Chamber of Commerce made sure that the dysfunctional status quo would prevail. Two applications to move the Urban Development Boundary are headed to administrative court in early December after the county commission approval despite an outpouring of civic opposition, then vetoed by Mayor Carlos Alvarez and rejected by the administration of Governor Charlie Crist and then appealed by the unreformable majority, represented by VNS on the county commission.br /br /Imagine if the public could vote on whether or not to move the Urban Development Boundary, and not county commissioners. This would not go over well with lobbyists and builders who made fortunes by manipulating zoning decisions. But times have changed. Or not?br /br /AP reports that homebuilders' sentiment is at an all time low. So if it is at an all time low, why are Lennar and their partners, including Ramon Rasco (US Century Bank), Rodney Barreto and Pino so anxious to get their zoning approvals today? We've written a lot about Parkland, and if you want to read the history, check out our archive feature.br /br /And if you can't make it tomorrow to County Hall, stay tuned for the meeting of the full county commission on the Parkland 2014 DRI, seeking to put a small city on the edge of Krome Avenue. I know if Joe Martinez was controlling the agenda, the commission meeting would be scheduled for Christmas Eve, to keep objectors away. But as things go, who wants to bet that Bruno schedules the full commission meeting sometime during the week before Christmas?br /spanbr /Homebuilder sentiment index plunges to record lowbr /Tuesday November 18, 1:57 pm ET br /By Alex Veiga, AP Real Estate Writerbr /Homebuilder sentiment index slides 5 points to new record low in Novemberbr /br /LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Homebuilders' confidence in a near-term housing recovery sank to a new all-time low this month, reflecting growing worries over the U.S. financial crisis, rising unemployment and weakening consumer confidence, an industry trade association said Tuesday.br /ADVERTISEMENTbr / br /The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index, started in January 1985, tumbled five points to nine in November. The index stood at 14 in October after slipping three points from September.br /br /Index readings higher than 50 indicate positive sentiment about the market. But the index has drifted below 50 since May 2006 and below 20 since April.br /br /"Today's report shows that we are in a crisis situation," NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn said in a statement. "Tremendous economic uncertainties have driven consumers from the housing market, and it's going to take some major incentives to bring them back."br /br /In recent weeks, homebuilders have ratcheted up pressure on Congress to take steps that go beyond trying to reduce foreclosures. the industry wants lawmakers to enact new incentives aimed at getting reluctant homebuyers back into the market.br /br /Specifically, they're asking for a 10 percent tax credit of up to $22,000 for homebuyers that purchase a home over the next year and a temporary interest-rate reduction on 30-year mortgages.br /br /"The housing downturn has already cost America three million jobs in construction and related industries, and this downward momentum cannot be stemmed without substantive government intervention," said David Crowe, the association's chief economist.br /br /The builders' proposed housing aid measures would cost the government an estimated $270 billion, and would amount to a short-term fix at best, Deutsche Bank North America analyst Nishu Sood concluded in a research note earlier this month.br /br /Builders have grown increasingly convinced that only government intervention will help stem the downward spiral in home prices and rising foreclosures that have led to a dearth in demand for new and preowned homes.br /br /Major public builders such as D.R. Horton Inc., KB Home, and Centex Corp., have seen their stocks hammered as housing woes have worsened.br /br /The latest builder index reflects a survey of 422 residential developers nationwide, tracking builders' perceptions of market conditions.br /br /Builders' gauge of current sales conditions tumbled six points to eight, while the index of foot traffic by prospective buyers fell four points to seven. Builders' expectations for sales over the next six months remained at 19, the NAHB said.br /br /Declines in builder confidence were seen across the U.S., with the biggest drop in the Midwest, where confidence declined by six points. The other regions -- Northeast, South and West -- saw builder confidence slide by five points.br /br /br /br /MIAMI HERALDbr /Posted on Sun, Nov. 02, 2008br /Battle looms on development push to the edge of the Evergladesbr /BY MATTHEW HAGGMANbr /br /Does Miami-Dade County need a new suburb on its western fringe?br /br /http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/752455.htmlbr /br /Home-building giant Lennar and a group of wealthy and politically powerful Miami business leaders think so. They are launching an effort to create Parkland, a community that would eventually be home to nearly 19,000 residents, about 2.5 miles from Everglades National Park.br /br /To build 961-acre Parkland and its projected 7,000 homes, stores, offices, warehouses, schools and a hospital, developers need to win approval to move the Urban Development Boundary, the line providing a green buffer between densely populated areas and the Everglades. The site, between Krome Avenue and Southwest 162nd Avenue near Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, has been planted in row crops for decades.br /br /The first hearing on the request to move the UDB is scheduled for Monday. It sets the stage for the biggest battle in years in the often fierce debate over urban growth versus sprawling suburbs.br /br /It's an argument that could well determine the course of development in Miami-Dade. At a time when county and city leaders are promoting infill and urban redevelopment, Parkland would be the biggest residential push west in more than 20 years.br /br /If built, planners say, Parkland -- not to be confused with the Broward County city of the same name -- is expected to have a larger population than almost half of the municipalities in Miami-Dade County.br /br /Critics say it would set a precedent that would eventually open up vast tracts of agricultural fields and open land currently off-limits to large-scale development.br /br /''The future of Miami-Dade is at stake,'' said Laura Reynolds, executive director of the Tropical Audubon Society. ``Decreasing home values, traffic congestion, crowded schools, emergency services, water supply, impacts to the natural environment and Everglades -- all of those things are tied into this one vote.''br /br /But the project's developers say it's a model of smart growth and a rare chance to build a community the right way from the ground up.br /br /''It will be like Coral Gables or Miami Lakes,'' said Rey Melendi, Lennar division president for Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The first homes are slated for delivery in 2014, when the builders hope that huge inventories of unsold homes will have shrunk and the credit crisis eased.br /br /CROSSING THE LINEbr /br /The UDB, capping the spread of subdivisions by limiting construction to one dwelling for every five acres beyond the line, was once nearly impregnable. County commissioners moved it only twice during the 1990s, but it has been under increasing assault this past decade from suburban builders who want more land for industrial parks, malls, offices and homes.br /br /In the last six years alone, county commissioners have voted to move the boundary five times for commercial projects. If Parkland's developers are successful, it would be the first time in 15 years that the UDB has been moved for any housing project.br /br /But opposition is building. Environmentalists, civic activists and urban leaders are organizing. Last week, Miami-Dade's Planning Zoning Department said it opposes moving the UDB for Parkland. County Mayor Carlos Alvarez said Friday that there are some attractive aspects to Parkland, but that he opposes moving the line at this time, ``especially considering the surplus and available housing within the UDB.''br /br /Two of South Florida's most prominent developers, Jorge Perez and Armando Codina, said it makes no sense to move the UDB for residential development. Perez said it's poor urban policy.br /br /''There are lots of opportunities within the boundary to build residential right now,'' said Codina, who added that he wasn't passing judgment on Parkland.br /br /County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, the decisive swing vote in two UDB decisions this year, also has declared her opposition: ``I will not support this application.''br /br /DIFFERENT CONCEPT?br /br /Parkland's developers say it would be different from the suburban sprawl that has clogged roadways and produced isolated bedroom communities. The project is designed to be walkable and bike-friendly, a self-contained community with a mix of uses that would encourage less driving -- and perhaps inspire reverse commutes to the 2,550 jobs that developers hope to create within Parkland, Melendi said.br /br /Energy-efficient homes are proposed, along with a water harvesting system that reuses wastewater for irrigation. Parks, along with habitats for fish and fowl, are promised.br /br /''There are some communities I did that I'm not very proud of because my customers don't have a park or school nearby,'' said Sergio Pino, president of Century Homebuilders, who is part of the Parkland development group. ``But we've learned. I will be proud to say I was part of this.''br /br /But opponents are not convinced. ''They're greenwashing,'' said the Tropical Audubon Society's Reynolds, arguing that Parkland's developers are trumpeting eco-friendly aspects that obscure greater problems. ``A New Urbanist community is what we want to see, but this is not the place for it.''br /br /Those opponents say Parkland is too close to the environmentally sensitive Everglades and sits in a flood zone -- although developers say the area would be elevated during the construction phase.br /br /It's far from major employment centers. If Parkland residents commuted, travel times would be 48 minutes to Miami's downtown and health district, which employs 245,000 people, and 34 minutes to Doral, employer of 194,000 workers, according to county planners.br /br /The Parkland proposal comes against a backdrop of trends, including long commutes, hefty gasoline prices, and congested and poorly planned streets that are pushing people and development into urban centers. A county analysis concluded that there isn't sufficient roadway capacity to handle Parkland traffic.br /br /Skeptics insist that a new western suburb also would strain the region's water supply and stretch thin government services like police and fire. ''Can the government afford the infrastructure to support further development outside the UDB line?'' asked real estate analyst Michael Cannon. ``Every economic study I have ever seen states no.''br /br /And county planners said there is ample room within current UDB boundaries to ''accommodate residential demand through the year 2018.'' That analysis doesn't even include the foreclosures and newly built unsold houses that have created a spike in the number of vacant homes, the report said. Population growth also has slowed in Miami-Dade.br /br /EARLY PLANNINGbr /br /Pino, one of the largest home builders in the county, said he controls more than 700 acres on which he could build houses inside the UDB. But the Doral-based developer said that Parkland is a response to the housing needs of the future and that the county must do such planning now. ''You can't just do this stuff overnight,'' Pino said.br /br /The developers challenge county calculations that there is an adequate supply of developable land within the UDB. ''They are overstating their numbers,'' said Melendi, who argues that the county has largely reached its buildable limits within the UDB.br /br /He also said that predictions of more traffic gridlock are overblown, that Parkland's water and sewer system would be more environmentally friendly than those of many cities -- and that the allure of suburbia remains strong for many South Floridians.br /br /''I don't see a trend of people moving closer to urban centers,'' Melendi said.br /br /The first vote on moving the UDB is expected to come before the County Commission in December, but the process could stretch into the spring.br /br /Melendi said the decision on Parkland may ultimately come down to politics. The UDB planning process, he said, ``is not being used as a planning tool; it's political.''br /br /But when it comes to politics, the Parkland developers have plenty of clout.br /br /The business leaders involved include not only Lennar Chief Executive Stuart Miller, whose West Miami-Dade company is among the largest home builders in the nation, but also Pino, who hosted President Bush at his Cocoplum home last month; Ed Easton, the industrial-park developer and a prominent Republican fundraiser; and Rodney Barreto, head of a lobbying firm and chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.br /br /Also included are Ramon Rasco, chairman of U.S. Century Bank; Adolfo Henriques, former Regions Bank and Florida East Coast Industries executive; attorney Frank Angones, president of the Florida Bar last year; Sedano's Supermarkets President Agustin Herran and board member Armando Guerra; home builder Silvio Cardoso; and Ezra Katz, a real estate financier.br /br /''For a lot of commissioners, these are the most influential people, and it spells trouble for the community,'' said Nancy Lee, a community activist and former board member of the Urban Environment League. ``This will be a question of whether power trumps policy.''br /br /br /br /© 2008 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.br /http://www.miamiherald.combr //span

Our past posts on Bringing Your Own Bags at Publix are some of the most popular posts on greenerMIAMI.com. We would complain about the difficult times we were having with bringing our own bags. Times have certainly changed.

In the past several months, Publix has increasingly encouraged people to buy Publix reusable bags for 99 cents each, and even has a sign in the front of a local store reminding customers to bring their bags to the store. Of course, you can use any bags. The point here is that Publix is promoting the concept, people are participating, and even more importantly, the cashiers and baggers are getting used to it. There are no more weird looks when you bring you bags. No more comments. They are more than happy to use your bags to pack your items.

Have others had similar experiences? Let us know in the comments section!

We'd like to give Publix a greenerMIAMI thumbs up for effort and significant improvements in this area. Thanks for your commitment. There are plenty of other issues to tackle, but we're glad to see that BYOBags is not one of them.

Back in August 2007, when I wrote "a href="http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2007/08/let-prices-fall-let-markets-find-their.html"Let prices fall, let markets find their equilibrium./a" no one had any idea how violent the economic contraction would be. We do, now.br /spanbr /Still, the visible hands of special interests continue to play for more time in the fields of unsustainable development (cf. Parkland DRI). Examples like Parkland-- a massive Development of Regional Impact headed to the Miami Dade County Commission for zoning approval-- show taxpayers exactly how the goal of insiders is to buy time until the economy "revives" when they intend to proceed on their merry way to doing things the same old way. (Remember, Parkland is called Parkland "2014". Its imaginators claim they will not be building anything until 2014; within a single mortgage cycle of the time when sea level rise from climate change will be a significant issue for property owners and insurers in South Florida and elsewhere.)br /br /The Bush administration or Congress should be very careful in rushing to bailout industries that resisted economic realities for 30 years; selling instead cars, trucks, and platted subdivisions as commodities measured by weight, volume, and mass. The heavier and bigger and more saturated with add-ons, the better was how it went. No more.br /br /The problem is: so many in positions of Congressional leadership-- take US Senator Mel Martinez, for instance-- built their entire careers on models of economic growth that are bankrupt. And the problem with bailouts, is that for all practical purposes the leadership of failed industries remains the same.br /br /What Detroit needs today is not a bailout so much as a concrete vision assembled by the Obama administration that can be implemented as a sort of Marshall Plan: to fundamentally change transportation and our energy future. (It is not based on the combustion engine, and certainly not with ethanol; a fuel whose subsidies have wreaked havoc in the cost of food around the world. In failing to mention this today, The Herald's glowing report on Big Sugar's ethanol production today did no favors to its readers.)br /br /Any taxpayer bailouts should be tied to close federal oversight of industries that have manifestly failed the "free" market. So far, not so good: an effect of eight years of the Bush administration has been the disappearance of talent and energy within civil service ranks.br /br /A Marshall Plan for our transportation and energy future should be the first priority of the Obama administration; overseen by the best and the brightest we can recruit to public service. Industries that take taxpayer dollars must be kept on a tight leash until a new economic order gains traction, creating jobs and profits and economic growth based on models of sustainable development.br //span

We often report on big events and actions happening in Miami related to the environment. However, there are a lot of smaller things happening in our individual neighborhoods that are harder to find out about.

In Brickell, where I live, a new 35 story office building is being built (1450 Brickell) and it is pre-certified as LEED Gold. LEED certified buildings operate at lower cost and have many environmental benefits compared to normal construction.

Also in Brickell, some local residents are working with their condo building to offer recycling for its residents. This is a challenge for many Miamians, including myself, even though it is the law for condos to provide recycling. Find more information on What Doesn't My Condo Recycle?

Someone in Sunny Isles mentioned to us that their condo recently REMOVED recycling from the building, because it was such a mess. This is the big issue...if people do not put recyclables in the right spot, the entire process gets botched and all of this potentially recyclable material becomes trash. If we want to have recycling in our buildings, education to residents must be key.

We've also heard from friends in North Bay Village that a mom is driving around in a three wheel electric vehicle, and has managed to fit 2 car seats in the back! Now that's green.

What's going on in your neighborhood? Can you recycle in your condo (what building is it?)? Let us know in the comments section! Also let us know if you'd like to see this as a regular feature and would like to keep your eye out for green in your area!

Coconut Grove Grapevine recently called for the Coconut Grove Playhouse to re-open. It's not a new request, although I'm touched that they were inspired to call for it after reading about all the regional activity here on the Theatre Scene.I recently realized that the Royal Palm Playhouse up in Palm Beach is facing similar problems.  Both were local institutions, both are about the same size,

In the mail I received a "Miami-Dade County 2008 Community Survey". I filled it out, put it in the envelope provided by an Olathe Kansas polling firm and then thought: wait a minute. Let me read that, again.br /br /I take the survey to be something concocted by the unreformable majority of the county commission-- led by Natacha Seijas--who is looking for certain outcomes and, so, the best way to understand those outcomes is to take a closer look at what the survey is asking and, especially, what the survey doesn't ask or skips over. Click 'read more', for my conclusions...br /spanbr /To understand what kinds of answers the commissioners are looking for, consider the questions being asked. There are 27 question groupings on the poll, but only a handful of questions are relevant to our review. (Some groupings have more than one question.)br /br /Here are the groupings and number of questions:br /Organization of Miami-Dade, overall ... 4br /Water and Sewer ... 2br /Public Safety ... 4br /Social Services ... 7br /Miami-Dade Communications and news information... 8br /Community Planning and Development ... 9br /Community relations ... 3br /Community appearance ... 5br /Transportation, streets, including potholes, trash and recycling ... 29br /Foreclosure ... 1br /br /OK. So what conclusions from this breakdown? Well, for one: the county wants to know if taxpayers are willing to take a service cut to save money: making taxpayers take trash to recyling centers instead of providing recycling bins as a service.br /br /But the one that really jumps out at me: that the survey is really all about cosmetics and filling potholes. That's right: in the midst of the worst crisis since the Depression, your county commissioner wants to know how you feel about street appearance.br /br /Could we really expect county commissioners to want to know how the public feels about the failure of the half cent transportation tax, or, the Miami Dade Transit Agency (see G.O.D. post below)? Or, how about a few questions on the big DRI "Parkland" or Sergio Pino's other project, rock mining at Krome Gold.br /br /These obvious omissions help understand what the unreformable majority is really thinking: reduce services but keep fixing potholes to make taxpayers think we are doing our job. br /br /This is entirely consistent with how the unreformable majority "does its job". It should also make you question what happens if and when federal "bailout" money is ever directed to the states and localities like Miami Dade County. br /br /No one doubts for a moment that the money won't be funneled somehow into the pockets of the pothole fillers, the street beautifiers, the consultants who make sure that senior citizens vote for incumbents like VNS, the cement makers and rock miners who will argue for new roadways in the far west to accommodate more suburban sprawl; that's where the money was, and the vested interests in Miami-Dade will do everything in their power to make sure that is where the money will be once the taxpayer funded government printing presses start showering money this way.br /br /Change we can believe in? Not until citizens change the County Charter by referenda to put people back in the equation of local government.br //span

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSGAhkGmIRI/AAAAAAAAD9A/cUE94ukiOxA/s1600-h/Aguirre.jpg"img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_DfVzTzSWk6o/SSGAhkGmIRI/AAAAAAAAD9A/cUE94ukiOxA/s320/Aguirre.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269634353115570450" //a After the city of Miami commissioners adopted their development rules for the river -- choosing language that encourages residential growth, Miami City Commissioner Angel Gonzalez said:br /br /In previous years,``people didn't even bother to go to the river because all they would find there was cocaine and marijuana.''br /br /Neighborhood activist Horacio Stuart Aguirre (pictured and always impeccably dressed) couldn't contain himself, said the Herald. He shouted: ''No, absolutely not! I live there Angel, and that is a lie...you're a liar!''br /br /Gonzalez responded: ``Don't call me a liar, a--hole!''br /spanbr //span

Take plenty of sunscreen, water, and spanBenadryl/span... read about the latest, from a November 13th report.br /spanbr /Yesterday morning (approx 10AM) while conducting fieldwork in Everglades NP my team and I were swarmed by what I am confident were Africanized honey bees. Four of us were involved, myself, a Jacobs employee (Karen Balentine) and two SCA volunteers. We were at a site near the Harney River on the southwest coast. (Its visible on Google earth: Lat 25, 25, 17.27; Lbr /81, 0, 34.81) After staging at the hydrology platform we moved some 20m away to the location of our surface elevation tables. Karen was first to arrive and was immediately swarmed by bees. Apparently they had built their hive under the wooden platforms we hav sampling. I gave to order to drop our gear and flee. Karen's head was almost completely covered withbr /bees. We'd move 10-15m and then pick bees off ourselves, move another distance and pick bees and keep going. We were knee deep in mud in a sawgrass marsh and making our way byside the boardwalk towards our boat, anchored along the Harney River 300m away. Finally some 60-80m away from the attack point and well into the mangrove forest we were away from the bees.br / br /I estimate that Karen was stung some 30- 50 times, primarily on her face and head, but also around her waist, on her arms and legs. I was stung primarily on my fingers as I was attempting to get bees off of Karen. The two SCA volunteers were also stung, one once and one twice. We got to the boat and returned Flamingo. In route I contacted park dispatch via radio and Park Ranger Ms. C. Morris (cc'ed above) met with us at the dock. She ascertained that Karen, although in much pain, was not in life threatening danger. We got benadryl for Karen at the Marina store and then headed for the Beard Center. I dropped the SCAs at the Beard Center and took Karen to the Homestead Hospital ER. On our way her face and neck began to swell. She was seen very quickly by the triage staff (10mins from our arrival). The medical staff determined Karen's injuries were not life threatening. After several hours she was seen by an MD. She given several prescriptions. I dropped her at her home approximately 8:30PM. In 16 yrs working in the park this is my second attack by bees. The first was only four weeks ago, at a site some 10km from where yesterday's attack occurred. In the first incident, once we had moved 3-5m away from the hivebr /the bees settled down and there was no swarming like occurred yesterday. We even finished sampling without incident. It is the extremely aggressive behaviour of the bees we encountered yesterday, the way they swarmed and followed us a fair distance, that leads me to believe they are Africanized.br / br /Respectfully,br / br /Tom J Smith III, Ph.D.br /U.S. Geological Surveybr /Florida Integrated Science Centerbr /600 Fourth Street, Southbr /St. Petersburg, Florida 33701br //span

Read all about it in the Miami Herald Today: a href=" http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/773520.html"AUDIT SCANDAL: Tug of war for troubled Metro Miami Action Plan, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and county commissioners are vying to control an organization created as an economic driver in the black community/a. The Herald calls it: "a scathing 76 page audit outlining millions of dollars of questionable deals." They mention Spence-Jones and the Carrie Meek Foundation.br /br /One thing bothered me about the article — they didn’t name Board Members (Miami Herald: It is vital that you name names!!). Plenty bothered me about the boondoggle especially the Carrie Meek Foundation being in the mix. And what is with Crapp being on the staff and his son being a board member?br /br /I went to the MMAP website and curiously could not find board members listed. I am of the belief, that the same people are on too many boards so their is no real oversight: like Robert Holland. How many boards is he on? I did find a PDF of a Metro Miami Action Plan Trust meeting in 2004. I was surprised to see that Cynthia Stafford was on their board and is also an officer of the Carrie Meek Foundation. I have listed all the members of the 2004 MMAP Board. What I found most startling was that they had 13 staff members at the meeting besides the President/CEO, Vincent Brown. Why do we need such a large staff? I say don't fight for control, dump this group and save us some tax dollars. (Here are names from 2004:)br /spanbr /From the 2004 Metro Miami Action Plan Trust Minutes:br /Chairperson John T. Jones, Jr.and Trust br /members: Mr. Arthur J. Barnes, Mr. Tony E. Crapp, Jr., Ms. Veldrin Freemon, Ms. Marie br /B. Hyppolite, Ms. Beverly Kovach, Ms. Greicy Lovin-Meighan, Dr. Marzell Smith, Mr. br /Herbert Robinson, Ms. Cynthia Stafford and Mr. Daniel Wick, Jr.; Trust members Mr. br /Benedict Kuehne, Ms. Ruth Page, Dr. Marty Pinkston, and Dr.Richard E. Williams, were br /excused. (Members Mr. Torris Cooper, Mr. Thomas Donaldson, Mr. Mr. Robert Holland, br /Mr. Omar Malone, Dr. and Mr. Andre McAden were absent.) br /br /(Now who do you think pays all these staff members hint: You and me):br / br /In addition to the members of the Board in attendance at today’s meeting, the following br /staff persons were present: MMAP Trust President/CEO Vincent Brown; Staff members: br /Ms. Cindy Campbell, Mr. Randel Carr, Ms. Rachel Fredericq, Mr. Jose Gonzalez, Ms. br /Joann Hicks, Mr. Caesar Phillips, Ms. Natelege Powell, Ms. Rashada Simmons, Mr. br /William Simmons, and Ms. Gloria Taylor, and Mr. Jeffrey Watson; Assistant to Assistant br /County Manager Tony Crapp, Mr. Gary Hartfield; and Deputy Clerk Ms. Mary Smith- br /York. br /br /And here are the current Board Members of the Carrie Meek Foundation:br /Carrie Meek, Aletha Player, Barbara Havernick, Calvin Grigsby, Chales Wellons, Craig Barkley, Cynthia Stafford, David Wilson, Harry Hoffman, Craig Wilson George Yap, Guylene Berry, High Westbrook, Jerry Rushin, Mim Kelly, Margarita Ollett, Marie Etienne, Mike Abrams, Rev. Darryl Baxster, Rhona Wimberly, Vincent T. Brown, Willis Murray, Yolanda Cash Jackson and Denise Mincey-Mills. Staff: Anthony Williams, Courtney Phillips and Gina Lebolo.br /br /Read through all these names. You will remember them enough to see that they pop up again and again.br //span