THE HatFUTURES AND THE McIntees…..

Why does the Vice Mayor make himself such an easy target?…..

BCbythesea hears….

The Vice Mayor was distributing LBTS Town Topics around his area in the north end over the weekend….

putting them in the residents’ mailboxes…..

He knows that’s a no-no…..

and so does the “HatFutures”….

No surprise when one of their “kissin” OG cousins pulled out a video and did a “gotcha”….

Will it make the front page 3 weeks from now?….

Will it extend this ongoing “feud?”………

Will this ensure the Town Attorney Report will indeed be moved once again on the agenda?…….

more to come…..

Tags: Local News, Local Politics, Scoops
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I WANT TO SEE THE TELEPROMPTER….

In today’s speech on patriotism…in Missouri…

Barack Obama…making a statement…..finishes by saying……..

………”Period”……….”Full stop”…………

response …..large applause…..

BCbythesea….was it meant to be said?……….

Or was that the directive from the teleprompter………. that he read out loud?………

more to come………..

Tags: Obama, Politics, Scoops
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www.sunsentinel.com

GIVE THE MAYOR A CALL….

Once again Mayor Minnet has 2 color photos in the Sentinel Society section….

for the Ocean Watch Foundation Clean-Up in LBTS….

How did she do it?……..

PSSST…..maybe she can help with the LBTS press problem?….

Tags: Local Politics, News, Scoops
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www.sunsentinel.com

MORE VFD VOLUNTEERS NEEDED?……

While the 4th of July is missing from the Sentinel Community News Roundup….what made it?….

‘Lauderdale-By-The-Sea…Volunteer Fire Department looking for volunteers’…

What’s up with that?….

According to the Vice Mayor…and VFD leadership…LBTS residents were told …so many had applied…they were going to start turning applicants away….

So why the recruiting…going on?………..

more on the VFD to come….check back….

Tags: Local Politics, News, Scoops, VFD
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www.sunsentinel.com

NOTTA!…..

LBTS 4th of July….got BUB KISS…..

Still no mention of the all out 4th Beach Bash…

Is someone is asleep at the wheel?…..

BCbythesea…. While I have my fingers crossed that all will be spectacular…(so much hard work has gone into it.)…that the event will be the talk of the coastline….with memories..that are long lasting….

An Editorial in today’s Sentinel….brings to light …some serious considerations ……

“Celebrating Holidays”….Issue: Cities splurge on fireworks…

With all the pre-event talk……of acquisitions…at the start …..”piggy-backing”…off Fort Lauderdale…for the originally intended barge and the fireworks….maybe more such “piggy-backing” …is required….

As the Editor points out….and the list of coastal celebrations that do make it in their paper…prove…. coastal communities are all doling out $80- $100 thousand apiece….hard to swallow for many….in these budgetary restricted times…

Hallandale Beach was savvy with alternating their day for the discount…previous post…..Weston is taking a pass…..and Hollywood …made the decision to go ahead…after finding the $60 thousand budgeted….needed to grow by an additional $21 thousand …..

Here in LBTS….the cost will be in the above stated ballpark….with the numbers to be adjusted after all the bills are paid…. .. and all the donations are counted….

The hope is to do better than last year…..but still…it will cost the town…..

As faithful readers know….this writer at the get-go…was looking for quite the opposite of any “extravaganza”…. in post election mode……still caught up…in the notion of “small town…seaside village… small VFD”……. times of old….(see …Update…5 months and counting…post)….. wanted an old fashioned…low-key …for the locals….at a minimal expense…. found out I was alone on this one…

That said ….after all the festivities are over….no matter what the final total is…….. on July 8th… Budget Meeting #2…….returns…..with the year ahead …..

“Piggy-backing”….should be the “mantra”….for next year’s celebration….

share the fireworks….share a barge…share the expense…

more to come….

Tags: Local Politics, Scoops, VFD
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www.miamiherald.com

As Paul Harvey said….”and now you know ….. the rest of the story…..”

The rest of the Sugar deal story…

‘Sugar deal won’t let water flow’….Curtis Morgan & Scott Hiaasen…

Water management…. as posted …..said it was not feasible…. ….

The “flow” will become “pools” of stored water…..with the Army Corp of Engineers …..already resulting in funds being diverted from other projects….and adding insult to injury…the sugar company land just purchased does not cover enough of the acres they will eventually need ….that is owned by yet another sugar company… over time the sugar fields south of the lake have lost too much earth to farming …leaving a deep bowl that would prevent any water from flowing south without artificial pumps….YIKES!….

Not over yet….Studies have shown that converting sugar fields to marsh would produce so much evaporation that the Everglades could wind up with less water….

Lake Okeechobee’s water is too polluted to pour directly into the the Glades….

None of the agencies can say what will say what will be revised…and what will be rejected….

Just as in LBTS…….the inevitable….dreaded …change orders……$$$$$$$$

more to come….

Tags: News, State Politics, Updates
Posted in State News

www.sunsentinel.com

STILL THE COLD SHOULDER….

Another day…another snub…and those who could come this way…on the 4th…are in the dark!….

What’s a municipality got to do to get some attention?…..

Keep your fingers crossed for Monday/Tues/ Wed/ Thur and the day of……

The LBTS 4th of July ….Parade and Beach Bash……

Tags: Local News, Scoops
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Areas Association meeting 6/25/08….

First the updates to projects…

“C” tennis courts received a deposit and are estimated to begin the final work in 2 weeks to get it up and running …….

A plumber needs to be brought in to inspect leaks in all 3 building garages….to prevent a major problem if left unattended…moves from “hold”…to action…

Also there are “cracks” in the garage ceilings and an “injection” process needs to be done from underneath…est. cost..$6068. dollars per building …the same system has been used successfully in the past…no action taken..

Still dealing with planter leaks at 2 building” B” locations….

The repairs of “rust” in the” B” pool is on hold until a Director from “B “is in attendance…all 3 were absent at this meeting…although “B” Manager was seated at the table….

“C” pool needs repairs…and also was put on hold to get the correct option to vote on…2 were offered…approx. $1200. dollars….

“A” pool has one heater that needs to be replaced…sited lack of maintenance agreement on it led to a problem that led to its early demise…installed 12/2005…est. $3655. dollars.. checking out the warranty….no action taken….

Air conditioner in Ocean room was installed….$3770. dollars….

4th of July will have extra pool personnel…as in the past…some will be overtime/pool personnel…those from other positions will approx. $9 per hour…

also stated……the board can approve anything from $2500.- 12,000 dollars…

The Landscaping Foreman… Jonathan…updated on annuals being planted…and the ongoing progress of sprinkler heads… and was asked to check out a snake caught in building “A’…to see if it was poisonous …currently in a jar…

It was asked by a Director to look into “rain detectors” for the sprinkler system…which has recently been in the news….

Presentation…..

Smith Watson Parker Insurance…from Hollywood…www.smithwatsonparker.com

Persistent to come to meet the board since January…the agent John Nordinger…came with the owner Larry Watson…….to enlighten all what they could do for SRC…NOW!….

He took a look at our current policy…with Citizens…www.citizensfla.com …and felt it was written…wrong….

They are the largest condo insurance writer in South Florida….since 1934…also the preferred agent of QBE…www.qbe.com

QBE is the same agency represented by our current insurer AON…… SRC….is in the process of trying to get back in QBE for wind insurance next year…

This writer questioned their ranking compared to AON..   they are above AON with their QBE  preferred placement…and was informed SWP is ahead of AON with Citizens insurance also….

They presented …. with Citizens…they could save us…$308 thousand dollars…with the coverage being equal or better….today….

Before we finish the requirements to opt out of the state -run program…

With the changes they will also move us back into QBE for even more savings…

No risk management fee…

5%…rather than the current 10%…

They have offered to a $3 thousand dollar deductible VS a percentage deductible…leaving us open to millions… in comparison…currently!….

Especially in our “All Other Wind”…if we were hit by a smaller event…which is more likely…

BCbythesea…worlds apart from the previous “group plan” based on the “big one”…

Smith Watson Parker is the insurer for the Corinthian…and the the Criterion Condominiums in Pompano….along with the Renaissance III….

Our liability will change from $143 thousand to $65 thousand…

It would just take 1-2 days to make the change…20% fees and charges are included in the proposal given to the board…in that $308 thousand dollar savings…

Other “perks” offered…personal attention from Mr Nordinger…along with the opportunity for residents to independently see if their unit coverage is correct….

All regular insurance would also be taken over….by QBE…as we have now…

The Comptroller came forth at the end…with the help of the former President of the board……with an email from AON that building “C’ will now receive a $168 thousand dollar savings…as it is the 1st  building to be completely shuttered…with the current code….

The Comptroller and the board will now go back to our present insurance agent and ask the “hard” questions…

Why were we not offered the same from AON… as SWP is proposing?….

They will do their due diligence and check the Smith proposal with our current numbers…and policy…

Building Manager from “A’ will contact the other condos…and get their feedback….

more to come….

Tags: Sea Ranch Club
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It’s 5 months today….BCbythesea ….the site…….is going strong….

The numbers have climbed…the daily readers…..are so loyal…and spreading the word….the site reached way beyond the LBTS borders…county…state ….and country….

That part is so amazing to see…. posts that gets picked up in other parts of the world…WOW!….

This is the fun part…the feedback…the enthusiasm….for doing what I’ve been doing for so long…for different venues…. in print or online….

The not so fun part…..the attempts to still silence…the newly appointed “messengers”….and the personal attacks…that sadly this last week reached a crescendo with a confrontation in Jarvis Hall…

I just chalk it up to coming with the territory…..so be it…I’m in for the long haul….

A week never goes by without the curious…asking the question…”What happened?”…”Tell me how the sausage was made?”….Referring to the beginning of this site…and notes I kept on the “Anatomy of an Election”…in the “Beginning” post…..5 months ago ….

“Not yet”…is my reply….

But faithful readers ….you do not need the specifics from that time….you have seen much of it for yourselves…the actions that caused….my walking away…first from the “inner circle”…of the “New Guard”…then from the CIC Board….and finally from the CIC membership after the new leadership was in place…….. observing their desired change from a “watchdog group to cheerleader group”…in this writer’s humble opinion….

The rest is on the dais….what I fought for…worked for……. and what has been the reality…..again…in my opinion….

I expected a return of the VFD….with new leadership in charge of it as a separate entity….

I bought into…the VFD …a small group of dedicated men and women…coming back to an unlocked VFD headquarters….just happy to be home….

I did not envision….a new public safety building….for $1.7 million…as a starting point….for if you listened to the Vice Mayor….as he threw out the numbers….speaking in the millions….like they were nothing….

Fire trucks….ATVs….. and such….finding myself in a real quandary by agreeing with the “other side”….but the “other side” is speaking for those in-between…who made this dais majority possible….

The VFD leadership is new…but virtually mute….at the podium ….they are “coached”…”upstaged”…..and “diminished” by the Vice Mayor/VFD “Trainer”….(he is also the instructor training the volunteer newbies)….plus overseeing the purchase of new trucks…from his neighboring hometown….and envisioning a public safety building…fire dept….that curiously seems like BSO….expensive!….

What happened to the constant drumbeat….”We only have 5 fires a year in LBTS?”…

In the process of my parting ways…….arose the discussion of who would be the Vice Mayor….word going around…the one who now holds that title……the promise at the time….from his fellow incumbent….his closest buddy…… to those that asked…….giving him this “deserved” position….would produce a “kindler, gentler Jerry.”….

What happened?….

I really believed “we” would get on the dais…the new majority…undo the mess of the Old Guard……the inflated budget….the Overlay Districts…the public safety BSO issues….and the change to the voter’s Term Limit vote…and March election tradition (although as previously posted…changed my mind on this one…)…to stop the taxpayers from paying for the Palm Club sewers…get the information on the Annexation Agreement…and beach access in the north…..and “they” did….for the most part….

But…”they” did not finish the job…..

No forthcoming updates…to get to the finish line….

What is the status…on the Overlay Districts?….Repealed…but no longer 3 over 1….

What is the status of the beach access?…..Have the plats been investigated?…..

What are the final numbers for the Annexation Agreement?…. Where do we go from here?…..

Follow-ups need to be a requirement….

What I never saw coming….the spending….the “perks”….the lack of questioning the Town Manager….the disconnect …between her “direction”…and the Commission’s “direction”….

The “blind loyalty” that emanates…the anger that is directed to those …..if any questioning comes…whether it be towards the Town Manager…Town Attorney..or especially the Vice mayor …and the VFD!….

That was the real shocker….because that is precisely what made this writer start this “journey” into LBTS politics in the first place…..

I did not like when the former Mayor was overbearing….always having the last word…. “running” the dais….

I did not like when it seemed the previous Town Manager was working “too close for comfort” with the former Mayor….

I did not like it when it seemed everything on the agenda…their agenda …had a forgone conclusion….

What’s changed?….

June 24th…..the 2 new Commissioners….and the Mayor …..at the pre- and regular Commission meeting….

They seem to be improving ……..being independent…….questioning…..much to the Vice Mayor’s displeasure…as openly displayed……. online at www.lauderdalebythesea-fl.gov

It gives this writer hope….

more to come……

Tags: Local News, Local Politics, Updates, VFD
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Sea Ranch Club…Yes …re-miss in posting last Wed. meeting with insurance…will post later or tomorrow…check back….

www.miamiherald.com

Today’s Sat. paper….

1. ‘Green Gone Wild’….John Dorschner….

Comparing the cost of going “green” at the present time to the first time cell phones came on the market at $2,000.00 a pop….and now…they give them away to get the consumer under contract…

One item…LED bulbs….

“At some point they will become so economically compelling that you can’t stay with the old technology….”…

Right now….though….LBTS…..forget the experiment….

2. Lawyers want 45% of fire-fee money….Michael Vasquez…

Attorneys representing taxpayers on an illegal fire assessment fee case want a cut of the $17.1 million dollar settlement…leaving those taxpayer with less than $50 dollars each….

Remember back a few years ago when the illegal fire-assessment here in LBTS was front and center….

just think if any taxpayer had decided to go to court?…..

Of course with the current” boss”…that is long forgotten…along with forensic audits….

3. Tomatoes may not be to blame for salmonella….Elaine Walker….

Previous post…Limieux Report…..on the FDA having to backtrack off initial charges that the tainted tomatoes came from Mexico…and stating that they may need to do the same with Florida….but this?….

It may not have been the tomatoes at all!….

4. Rodent proves levee’s undoing….Jim Slater…

That pesky muskrat….did what muskrats do…burrowed through the levee…and caused water to penetrate the floodwall …..

A Missourian asked…”with all the guns in this country,couldn’t we kill a muskrat?’….

Watch for the PETA people to answer this one…..

5. ‘Supporting Obama hard for Clinton fans’….David Lightman….

Unity N.H…..guess the “smarmy” matching tie …to her dress….didn’t quite do the job….(reminds many of going to prom)……or the cutesy…condescending remark…not once but twice about Hillary doing what she did……competing against him ….in “heels”….

Seems it will take more….to win their votes….

6. Opinion ….The Reader’s Forum….

‘Legislative pension mandates drain municipal budget…written by John Charles Thomas, Director, policy,and political affairs, Florida League of cities,Tallahassee.

The previously posted ……article on 6/16/08 in the Herald about Municipal pension…”Pensions rise, putting S. Florida cities in tough spot’…

The ‘history” of the pensions…before 1998…when cities had negotiated “extra” pension benefits  for police and firefighters above and beyond those provided other municipal employees….

The interpretation by the state and state law in 2004 limiting how those funds could be used….

ultimately costing cities and their taxpayers approx. $200 million since 1999….

The bill that passed in 2006 by the Legislature that expanded worker’s  compensation and pension disability benefits for law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians…

Who pays for these state-mandated benefits…your city government and residents…

Should cities and taxpayers be mandated by the Legislature?….Shouldn’t the cities and employees be allowed to negotiate?…

The reason we can not do just that….lobbying in Tallahassee…by the police and fire unions…

enough said…..

Tags: Local Politics, News, Updates
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