Young, Dumb, & Full of Comeuppance: Joe Garcia’s Chief of Staff Implicated in Absentee Ballot Fraud

Jeffrey Garcia, 40, Chief of Staff of Congressman Joe Garcia took responsibility for the plot to perpetrate Absentee Ballot Fraud.  Basically he is toast along with Communications Director Giancarlo Sopo, 30, and Campaign Manager John Estes, 26.  One would ask:  What were these relatively young professionals thinking?   Not much apparently or too much depending on who you ask.  HUBRIS tends to get the best of people since...

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Homestead and Florida City 2013 Property Values Decreased Again

HIH POV:Homestead's property values decreased 2.2% and Florida City decreased 7.5% while the county overall property values increased.  The true impact to individual homeowners won't be known until the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC) set the maximum millage rate in mid-August as they've historically done.  The early release of this information is a "nice to have" for municipalities planning purposes but for the average citizens...

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Redland resident challenges lawmaker for South Dade/Keys House District

Miami Herald ExcerptRedland area community activist Pamela Gray is challenging incumbent state Rep. Holly Raschein for the right to represent Monroe County and parts of South Miami-Dade in the state House of Representatives.Best known as a community leader of campaigns to protect agricultural, environmental and historical resources, Gray filed on May 21 as a Democrat to run against Raschein, a Republican from Key Largo.At stake is House District...

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OPT OUT: Citizens Insurance under Depopulation in Preparation for Active Hurricane Season

It's been seven years since we've been hit with a major hurricane.  In preparation for our luck to run out Citizens Insurance is being dismantled by Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature via a Depopulation effort of policies from the insurer.  They have set in motion a Rube Goldberg machine that will effectively boot everyone out of Citizens and into the hands of fly-by-night private insurance companies.  Companies that were created...

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FL Gov. hammers Citizens Insurance after signing bill - Depopulation Continues

Miami Herald Excerpt:Scott on Wednesday signed a bill that includes modest steps to shrink the size of the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The bill (SB 1770) creates a new "clearinghouse" designed to steer homeowners into private insurers instead of obtaining coverage through Citizens. The legislation also phases in over three years a $700,000 cap on the value of homes that can be insured by Citizens.HIH POV:See previous blog...

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NRC holding Turkey Point safety meeting at Keys Gate Golf Club

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a Question & Answer (Q&A) session at the Keys Gate Golf Club,  2300 Palm Dr 1:00PM Thursday, 05/30/13 Homestead, FL.  This public meeting provides the public an opportunity to discuss their concerns with the operators and regulators of Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point Facility.Reference Linkhttp://www.miamiherald.com/2013/05/29/3422650/nrc-to-hold-meeting-...

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Effect on Homestead? - South Florida Case-Shiller index Property Valuesup 11%

Don't get too overly excited. The index is a reflection of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale Metro area.  While it signifies a positive trend it doesn't mean Homestead has experienced a significant rate of growth considering various factors affecting home valuations in the local area. First our home prices hit rock bottom and then started digging, so a small increase in valuation reflects a higher percentage.  However, In real dollars its...

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No Hurricanes in 7 years but Florida insurance rates keep rising

Miami Herald Excerpt:The biggest expense remains the cost of "reinsurance" - which is the money an insurer spends with an out-of-state or foreign company to provide the company financial backing in case of major claims.Other causes that have been cited include millions in other types of losses such as sinkholes. A Pulitizer Prize-winning series in 2010 by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune pointed out how insurers paid out millions in bonuses to company...

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Find Homestead is Home on Facebook & Twitter

Homestead is Home - FacebookHomestead is Home - TwitterHIH is evolving to incorporate social media platforms that will enable our audience to share the blog articles as they wish.  Find us on Facebook & Twitter for the latest blog posts providing relevant content to the community in support of ethical governance, government accountability and transparen...

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Miami-Dade County PAB Meeting: Proposed Annexation to Florida City

When: On Monday June 3rd 2013 at 3:30PM Where:  111 NW 1st Street                Miami FL 33128 County Commission Chambers This notification is located in the Neighbors Section of the Miami Herald Page 19SW on Sunday May 26th 2013. "An application to annex the area depicted below in the City of Florida City has been filed.  As required by Section 20-7 of the Miami-Dade Code, this...

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Bateman Fundraiser: A List of South Dade Movers and Shakers

The long list for the sitting Mayor's fundraiser is full of glad-handlers and sycophants lined up to eat at the trough of taxpayer handouts.  The "Baitster" as he is euphemistically called by some of his most ardent critics, is revving up the political machine.  He'd better launch an offensive quickly as Mark Bell, husband of County Commissioner Lynda Bell, is getting ready to mount a political assault on City Hall. Eye on Miami (EOM) has...

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Homesteadishome Blog Notice - Disambiguation

As of March 14th 2013 the Homesteadishome.org domain name is no longer associated with this blog at homesteadishome.blogspot.com.  We discontinued the yearly subscription of the domain name since its purpose to redirect traffic to the blog was overcome by Google's website traffic and content monitoring service. The blog is already being ranked at the top for "homesteadishome" searches and other methods of redirecting traffic to the blog are...

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South Dade Community Job Fair @ MDC Homestead Campus

Miami Dade College (MDC) Homestead Campus is partnering with the Miami-Dade County Commissioner and MDC alumna Lynda Bell to host the First Annual South Dade Community Job Fair – complete with professional marketability workshops – at the campus on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. The job fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.in buildings D and G. It is free and open to the public.The South...

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Election 2013 : Lobbyist Registration List

A Day in the life of a Lobbyistby The Princeton ReviewWhether lobbyists work for a large organization, a private individual, or the general public, their goals and strategies are the same. First and foremost, lobbyists must be adept at the art of persuasion, which is the mainstay of their job. They must figure out how to sway politicians to vote on legislation in a way that favors the interest they represent. This means tailoring appeals to specific...

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Citizens Insurance Depopulation Update - Watch Out For Assumption Notice and Opt Out Form

As reported before on HIH the Citizens Depopulation effort is in full swing. Examples of what to watch out for in the mail are included.  You only have 30 days from the Assumption Notice date to OPT OUT so there's no time to waste once you receive the letter.  You must contact your insurance agent if an OPT OUT form is not included with the Assumption Notice.  Coincidentally we did not receive one.  It's not by chance but by design...

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Miami-Dade property assessments online next week

BY MARTHA BRANNIGANMBRANNIGAN@MIAMIHERALD.COMThe Miami-Dade Property Appraiser plans to post assessed values for 2013 on its website by June 1 as part of an effort to make it easier for residents to contest assessments..In the past, the information hasn’t been available until TRIM notices get mailed in mid to late August.Carlos Lopez-Cantera, who took office as property appraiser in January, said the goal is to provide additional time and opportunity...

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Mayor's Top Priority 2013-2015: Turnpike Interchange at SE Lucy ST (SW 328th ST)

The Proposed Florida Turnpike Partial Interchange at SE Lucy ST (SW 328th ST) is a proposal on the radar screen of the current Mayor.  A little research has revealed a lot of local lip service and promises but little traction outside of the City of Homestead. First came a resolution on April 16th 2007 approved by the City Council which supports the relocation of of the intersection of SE 12th Av (SW 167th Ave) and SE Lucy ST (SW 328th ST) to...

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It's Official: Mark Bell Candidate for Mayor of Homestead

Reliable source confirms Mark Bell has picked up a Candidate Packet at City Hall effectively tossing his hat into the ring.  Now we can consider this election a true competition for the Mayorship of this city.Reference Link: For Whom the Bell Tolls: Mark Bell Running for May...

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City of Homestead Website Fail: E-Docs Laserfische Chokes on Citizens' Requests

City of Homestead's E-Docs Laserfische Weblink application could not accept any more logins.  Citizens have found how to perform research on their own and its time for the city to realize that it needs to provide more resources for this service.  Whether it requires more licenses for the application or throughput the fact is that going forward its a service that will be utilized more often.Tip for the Webmaster: The folders should be listed...

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A Publix proposed for Venetia Groves

A new Publix has been on the drawing board for Venetia Groves for quite awhile.   Publix Supermarkets Inc. bought the land in April 2007 and in similar fashion to Walmart plans to build when market conditions make the venture worthwhile. These two indirect competitors have jockeyed for position to discourage direct competitors, such as Whole Foods and Target respectively, from setting up shop in the city. However, it will be their unique competitive...

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Another Walmart is coming to South Dade near the Air Force Base

On April 26th 2012 the South Bay Community Council unanimously approved a zoning change on that will accommodate another Walmart superstore in South Dade. This approval made way for Walmart to build a new 152,000-square-foot store located on the southeast corner of the Southwest 288th Street and 137th Avenue intersection, near the Publix at Waterstone, Home Depot and Homestead Air Reserve Base.  The new store is currently located outside the...

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