Bird Bowl Withdraws From Opening Bowling Facility

                    What Might Have Been?

                         Remember When? 

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/23/2765638/bird-bowl-steps-up-to-buy-run.html

 

Forget Those Enter Buttons Bird Bowl Decided To Exit Homestead, No Family Fun On The Horizon


Citing costs, sources in Homestead have verified that Bird Bowl has withdrawn it's intention to operate the South Dixie Highway facility. We have also learned that the facility has been vandalized for scrap metal, wiring and other salvageable materials. Too bad, the community suffers as another activity designed for family and social entertainment goes down to economic viability.

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Did the Mayor and Councilman Ignore the City Attorney?

On May 8, 2012 John H. Ruiz served notice that he had filed two lawsuits against the City of Homestead.

One would assume the City Attorney provided instruction to City Council members to avoid any and all contact with the plaintiff.

The City Attorney's direction may have been ignored as both Mayor Steven C. Bateman and Councilman Elvis Maldonado decided to attend and participate in an event at the La LEY Sports Complex between August 3, 2012 and August 9, 2012.

Recent motions were last filed this week on 10/17/12 and 9/7/12 respectively below.

What are they thinking? 

The PLAINTIFF is quoted: “These are high quality teams and we will have live broadcasting as well as topnotch, real time statistic reporting,” said John H. Ruiz, Founder and President of La Ley Sports, in a telephone interview. “We have put around $200,000 or so into preparation for the tournaments. Our fields are pristine and we have made other improvements to the facilities. We are happy with the support from the city of Homestead. Mayor Steve Bateman and Councilmember Elvis Maldonado are scheduled to throw out the first pitches.”

 http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/john-h-ruiz

Civil / Probate Justice System - Docket Information

BACK TO SEARCH RESULTS ALL PARTIES START A NEW SEARCH
	LA LEY SPORTS COMPLEX vs CITY OF HOMESTEAD FL * Click on BOOK/PAGE of a particular docket to see the image if it is available *
	Case Number (LOCAL):	2012-18206-CA-01	Dockets Retrieved:	16	Filing Date:	05/08/2012
	Case Number (STATE):	13-2012-CA-018206-0000-01			Judicial Section:	22
Date Book/Page Docket Entry Comments 10/17/2012 NOTICE OF ANSWER TO INTERROGATORIES 10/17/2012 RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 10/17/2012 RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 09/19/2012 NOTICE HEARING- MOTIONS 10/18/2012 09:30AM LS:01/22 08/29/2012 MOTION TO COMPEL 08/28/2012 NOTICE: OF DESIGNATION OF EMAIL ADDRESS 06/19/2012 TEXT SECOND REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION 06/14/2012 REQUEST: FOR SPECIAL SET HEARING 06/12/2012 ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE ATTORNEY:00259111 DN01 06/12/2012 NOTICE OF INTERROGATORY 06/12/2012 REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 05/29/2012 SERVICE RETURNED BADGE # 885 P 05/23/2012 DN01 05/08/2012 COMPLAINT 05/08/2012 SUMMONS ISSUED DN01 05/08/2012 CIVIL COVER 05/08/2012 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Civil / Probate Justice System - Docket Information

BACK TO SEARCH RESULTS ALL PARTIES START A NEW SEARCH
	LA LEY SPORTS COMPLEX vs CITY OF HOMESTEAD FL * Click on BOOK/PAGE of a particular docket to see the image if it is available *
	Case Number (LOCAL):	2012-18207-CA-01	Dockets Retrieved:	17	Filing Date:	05/08/2012
	Case Number (STATE):	13-2012-CA-018207-0000-01			Judicial Section:	23
Date Book/Page Docket Entry Comments 09/07/2012 E-MAIL NOTICE MPOPOK@WSH-LAW.COM 08/29/2012 MOTION TO COMPEL 08/13/2012 ORDER EXTENDING TIME FOR ORDER EXTENDING TIME RESE DATE DUE :08/16/2012 07/27/2012 NOTICE OF HRG SPECIAL APPT 10/26/2012 11:30 AM 07/09/2012 REQUEST: FOR SPECIAL SET HEARING BEFORE JDG MICHAEL A GENDEN 06/26/2012 NOTICE OF APPEARANCE ATTORNEY: 00044131 DN01 06/18/2012 MEMORANDUM OF LAW 06/18/2012 REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION 06/18/2012 MOTION TO DISMISS 06/18/2012 NOTICE OF INTERROGATORY 06/12/2012 TEXT AMENDED MTN TO DETERMINE CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL REQUI ETC 06/11/2012 AFFIDAVIT OF: TODD ARNOLD 05/29/2012 SERVICE RETURNED BADGE # 885 P 05/23/2012 DN01 05/08/2012 COMPLAINT 05/08/2012 SUMMONS ISSUED DN01 05/08/2012 CIVIL COVER 05/08/2012 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

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District 8 Commissioner Lynda Bell Gets Apology From Beacon Council After Discussing Funding And Oversight Changes

Late Breaking Related Content:
Miami-Dade commissioner gets apology after calling out county's economic development agency
The chairman of Miami-Dade's top economic development agency apologized to County Commissioner Lynda Bell on Wednesday, a day after Bell publicly called out Beacon Council leaders from the dais.
 
"I feel very bad, personally, about any bad feelings you have about the meeting we had Monday," Joe Pallot, chairman of the Beacon Council's board of directors, said at a meeting of the commission's economic development and social services committee. "We really do want to work with you."
 
"I appreciate the apology," Bell said. "I think it may have come from the wrong person, but I do appreciate it."
 
Piped in Nero: "I echo anything my chairman may have said."
 
On Tuesday, Bell had said Pallot and Beacon Council President and CEO Frank Nero treated her and her staff "very rudely and disrespectfully" in a private meeting Monday, held in part to discuss Bell's proposal to renegotiate the 27-year-old Beacon Council's open-ended contract with the county.

Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2012/10/miami-dade-commissioner-gets-an-apology-after-calling-out-countys-economic-development-agency.html#storylink=cpy



By Patricia Mazzei
pmazzei@MiamiHerald.com

Miami-Dade Commissioner Lynda Bell turned up the heat Tuesday on a simmering political feud with the county’s economic development agency, the Beacon Council.
Bell proposed renegotiating the county’s open-ended contract with the Beacon Council — a move that agency leaders fear could threaten the 27-year-old council’s existence, or at least create uncertainty in its plans to expand and recruit businesses to Miami-Dade.

Friction between the Beacon Council and Bell became public in recent weeks, after Bell sent a letter to the editor raising concerns about the agency to a community newspaper that had published an editorial questioning the Beacon Council’s effectiveness — particularly in South Miami-Dade, where Bell’s district is located. The editorial prompted the Beacon Council’s lawyer to send the paper a letter demanding a retraction.

The Beacon Council has a big-picture focus, its leaders say, intended to attract businesses to grow the county’s economy as a whole. At least some commissioners, however, counter that the agency doesn’t do enough to help small businesses in their districts. More than half of the agency’s annual budget comes from $3.7 million in county funds.

The tension was evident Tuesday when Bell briefly presented her plan to have the commission more closely oversee the Beacon Council.

“I report to the people and to the taxpayers, not the Beacon Council or its board,” Bell said. “Many in my community, and many in yours on the dais, have been crying out for help.”

She ultimately deferred her measure at the meeting of the internal management and fiscal responsibility committee — but only after several other commissioners praised her proposal and vowed to support it. Bell pledged to bring back the legislation after meeting with members of the Beacon Council’s board of directors.

She sat down with the council board’s chairman, Joe Pallot, and with the Beacon Council’s president and chief executive officer, Frank Nero, on Monday in what Bell described as a contentious meeting.

“I was treated very rudely and disrespectfully, insulted — as was my chief of staff,” Bell said.
Nero and Pallot, who did not attend Tuesday’s committee, said in an interview before the meeting that they were concerned by Bell’s proposal, which they said they learned about only shortly before sitting down with the commissioner.

“My fear is that if our contract — and by extension our existence, our structure — is opened up, we’re going to chill all of the wonderful efforts of One Community One Goal,” Pallot said, referring to the five-year plan for the county’s economy. One of the people chairing that initiative is Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

Pallot quickly added that he doesn’t think Bell wants to do away with the Beacon Council. But he said the agency and the commission could make some of the changes Bell proposed without renegotiating the entire contract.

The key proposal in Bell’s measure would delete the automatic renewal to the Beacon Council’s contract. Bell and other commissioners said they would prefer a contract set for a certain number of years with an option to renew.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/16/3052984/miami-dade-commissioner-takes.html#storylink=cpy

  http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2012/10/17/miami-dade-commissioners-want-more.html?page=all

  http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/121018/story3.shtml

  http://southdadematters.com/2012/10/10/bell-to-beacon-council-its-miller-time

 http://www.communitynewspapers.com/pinecrest/commissioner-bell-responds-to-beacon-council-questions/

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Put On The Shockface: Legal Group Alleges Homestead Housing Authority Did Not Follow Federal Guidelines

A nonprofit law firm that represents poor people says the Homestead Housing Authority isn’t following federal rules.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/19/3058052/lawyers-say-homestead-housing.html#storylink=cpy

By Christina Veiga

cveiga@MiamiHerald.com

The Homestead Housing Authority didn’t follow federal regulations when making changes to the way the agency administers rental assistance, according to a letter from a group of lawyers who represent low-income residents.

The letter stems from a September vote by the authority’s board of commissioners to change its annual and administrative plans, which govern how Homestead gives out vouchers under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 voucher program. The federal government funds the program and the Homestead Housing Authority administers it.

Legal Services of Greater Miami is now asking Homestead to follow the federal guidelines that lay out how changes can be made to the authority’s plans.

An Oct. 4 letter from Legal Services claims that the housing authority:
• Did not advertise all of the proposed changes for 45 days before the changes were voted on, which is required by federal regulations. Housing Authority Executive Director Oscar Hentschel said that Homestead’s new administrative plan didn’t need to be noticed. Federal rules only mention the annual plan, which Hentschel and Legal Services both said was noticed.
• Does not have a resident advisory board, which is required by federal regulations. Hentschel admitted the housing authority doesn’t have a resident advisory board and said there are no plans to create one. The board tried to recruit a tenant to become a member of the commission, but none came forward, he said. Federal rules state that public housing authorities “must establish one or more resident advisory boards.”
• Does not have a policy to address or implement federal requirements under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provides protections to women who are victims of domestic violence. Hentschel said that the authority does advise tenants of their rights under VAWA.

Gloria Shanahan, a spokeswoman with HUD, wrote in an email: “We will look into this matter to ensure they have followed the proper procedures. If we find that the regulations were not followed, we may require a new process that complies with the regulations. The implementation of the changes to the administration plan may then be delayed until the flaws in the process are corrected.”
Legal Services asks Homestead in its letter to “correct the procedure to allow full public comment before making any permanent changes.”

Hentschel said the housing authority is “in compliance” and already submitted the plans to the local HUD office. The changes will go into affect Nov. 1, he said.

Among the changes that will kick in: the authority will not take into consideration the ages and gender of family members when deciding how many bedrooms a family needs, according to the legal services letter.
“It creates scenarios where children and family members of entirely different generations would share a room,” according to the letter from legal services. “For instance, a teenaged son would share a room with a 4 year old daughter; an adult aunt may share a room with a young nephew; a grandfather with a granddaughter.”

The authority also won’t assign a room for family members who are away in the military for long periods of time, but their income will count toward the amount of rental assistance a family gets.
That “directly hurts those families who serve our country,” Legal Services lawyers wrote.

The letter also argues that the housing authority can’t deny housing to people solely because they have been arrested in the past — something which the authority currently takes into consideration. Legal Services lawyers point to a case in Chicago where a court decided an arrest alone is not enough to deny someone housing.
 
Follow @Cveiga on Twitter.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/19/3058052/lawyers-say-homestead-housing.html#storylink=cpy

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10th Annual Everglades Bicycle Club Festival Sunday

Date: Sunday, October 21, 2012 @ 7:30 AM SHARP!!!

Address

Homestead Miami Speedway

1 Speedway Boulevard Homestead, FL

REGISTRATION:

Special EBC MEMBER Price - $40

Non-member price- $45

Online registration open on Active.com open until October 17th. Early Bird Pricing ends October 7th! REGISTRATION: http://www.active.com/cycling/homestead-fl/homestead-speedway-century-2012

Brief Description

10TH ANNUAL EVENT BEGINS WITH ONE LAP AROUND THE HOMESTEAD MIAMI SPEEDWAY, then continues through rural south Miami-Dade County. Best supplied rest stops! Plenty of water, sports drinks, fresh fruit, bagels and much more! SAG provided by local bike shops at each rest stop, as well as roaming SAG on the route. Nominal charges for parts. Well marked routes! Grandstands at the Speedway will be open to the public for the mass start promptly at 7:30am! Registration opens at 6:30am.

Supported Charities

Portion of the proceeds to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the world’s leader in the search for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

New for 2012: CF TEAM CHALLENGE!!

Local cycling Teams will be competing to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The winning team will lead out the ride on the track, and win a free pizza party after the ride. All teams that raise at least $250 for CF will be welcome to set up a tent for their members in the tent area. Details on how to register your team is on the event website.



Elite Cycling and Fitness, 13108 South Dixie Hwy Miami, FL 33156. WALK UP REGISTRATIONS WELCOME!!!

EARLY PACKET PICKUP - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20; 12-5PM

Bike Tech, 7225 Bird Rd, Miami, FL 33155. WALK UP REGISTRATIONS WELCOME!!!

DAY OF RIDE INFORMATION

Walk-up registration and packet pickup at the Speedway begins at 6:30AM. Gates to the Speedway track open at 7:10; ride begins at 7:30 sharp!!

25 Mile Family Fun Ride

This is a perfect distance ride for the family get together, the beginning cyclist, or those of you just getting back into the saddle.

41 Mile Ride

Back by popular demand! We are offering an intermediate ride of 40 miles for those who desire to ride more than the 25 mile fun ride, but not a full metric century. A popular choice when it's windy outside!

62 Mile Metric Century

For those a little more ambitious, metric century riders will accompany the century riders thru the scenic and rural Homestead and Florida City areas.

100 Mile Century - BEST VALUE!!!

For those who are looking for the ultimate challenge Century riders will join the Metric Century riders for most of the route as they travel thru southern Dade County.

Directions

Florida's Turnpike south. Exit on Speedway Boulevard (SW 137 Avenue). Turn left (south) on Speedway Boulevard, and go 4 miles to SW 336 Street. Turn right...YOU ARE THERE!

More Details

For more information on registration or how you can volunteer or sponsor this event please visit our website at http://www.evergladesbc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=140 or contact our Ride Chair Rafael Acosta at prepur@bellsouth.net.

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ATTENTION READERS! UPDATE LIBRARY CARDS

 

 

 

 

 

SIX NEW LIBRARY CARD DESIGNS NOW AVAILABLE AT MIAMI-DADE PUBLIC LIBRARIES!

–Update your old card with a new, cool design-

(MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 16, 2012) Beginning October 16 through November 16, the Miami-Dade Public Library System will be offering patrons the opportunity to update their current library card for one of six new designs.

The designs are part of Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s Library Card Challenge which ‘challenges’ current library card holders to explore and re-acquaint themselves with all the resources and services available at their public library. For non-library card holders, the ‘challenge’ is to get to their nearest branch and register for one so that they can start enjoying their favorite book, movie, CD and much more.

The cards are available while supplies last. For more information, call 305.375.BOOK.

http://www.mdpls.org/news/press/pr/2012/sixnewcards.asp

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Is This a Newsletter or a Campaign Advertisment?

See the links for yourself:

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1110108144715-15/September+Newsletter.pdf

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1110108144715-14/August+Newsletter.pd

So many pictures so little content. What's the word?  

Noun: a narcissistic megalomaniac that wants to do everything, thinks he/she is always right, and thinks the world revolves around him/her.

A couple of Mayors up in the northern end of the county are in some hot water over what they thought was city advertising. Andres Pierre, one of them, also donated $500 to the 2011 Campaign of Mayor Bateman. Hmm.....

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/20/3012078/former-north-miami-beach-mayor.html#disqus_thread

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/08/3040603/north-miami-mayor-andre-pierres.html

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