Where’s Bobby Dubose?


                                                       

      I could never find Waldo when reading those books to my child years ago, and I had no more luck finding Commissioner Bobby Dubose at an important meeting last night in Wilton Manors.

     For some background, Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Bobby Dubose has announced that he is resigning his City Commission seat to run for the Florida House of Representatives – District 94.

     Last nights’ meeting that Dubose missed was held by Rep. Perry Thurston ( who is term limited out of District 94  and running for Attorney General). Thurston organized this first LGBT town hall meeting in Wilton Manors – discussing State issues important to the gay community., which make up a large voting bloc.

                                        

     District 94 (in yellow) is unofficially seen as the House seat created so an African American would more or less be guaranteed a seat in Tallahassee, but the District also includes a part of Plantation, a sizable chunk of Fort Lauderdale (where I live), most of Wilton Manors, and an important swath of Oakland Park.

      The race for the House seat already has four African Americans in the race, so I expected Dubose would be at this meeting……. so I searched!

                 ….Was he here on stage with the other bigshots?

                              
                              Nan Rich (running for Gov.), Senator Maria Sachs, Rep. Sobel, Rep. Thurston,
                                       Wilton Manors
Vice Mayor Carson and Comm. Green, activist Michael Rajner

                                                         Nope not there!

        I did find the back of the head of county Commissioner Tim Ryan and the only Republican in the room, County Commissioner Chip LaMarca.

                           

                                                        But no Dubose!

     Two other of the announced candidates for District 94 were there. Lauderdale Lakes Commission Levoyd Williams, and Eric Alexander Fowler II.

                          
                                                       Levoyd Williams

      Maybe Dubose had a good reason for the no show, I haven’t heard.  Another candidate for the seat, Jimmy (O’Glory) Witherspoon, wasn’t in attendance either.

      But any candidate that can convince the voters in Plantation, Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, (and the neighborhoods where I live), that they will also be represented in Tallahassee could win the day!

     Maybe even a candidate from that area could win the day!

    

                              
                                                 Witherspoon and Dubose ( elsewhere)

                                         
                                                                             
                                                                                            Tim Smith

    


     

    


    

    


Two Things

      Yrrral is dreading next weekends Boat Show.

                                         

      Our boat show is arguably the best in the world.

     But Yrral and some of his neighbors in their posh Harbor Beach neighborhood (just up the road from the show) are fed up with the illegal parking lots that spring open in their neighborhood every year for “illegal boat show parking”.

     They fully expect the same this year.

           
       Yrral says the illegal parking lots make their busy stretch  of A1A dangerous. He says he and his neighbors have “grown accustomed to screeching brakes and mangled metal”.

     He says they have called everyone, Police, Code Enforcement, and City Commissioner Romney Rogers. He says promises get made, but there is never any enforcement.
     
            I think they should try calling the Mayor or the City Manager directly (954-828-5003, or 954-828-5013.)

        ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

There are less guns on our city streets this weekend!

                           

      The Fort Lauderdale Police held their second gun buy-back program on Sistrunk Boulevard yesterday. They bought over 50 guns at their first buy a few months back, and they were on target to meet that goal when I stopped by yesterday.

           

I Applied for ObamaCare

     
                                        

  
   I expected little, but was pleasantly surprised! …..Read On!

           ……………………………………………………………………………………..
      It was a bit dicey and confusing at first.  Late Saturday night, after about an hour of personal questions, the process said I was ineligible for a subsidy, that I could appeal if I wanted, but it wouldn’t let me go any further and shop for
ObamaCare. 

    
 I was bummed.
 
     I let it go until tonight, but being one that doesn’t let much go,  I persevered and finally got through the application process.

                            

                               

    Of course it wanted my Social Security number, my income, my wife’s info and my sons, but  figured this was the government and they had all my info already!

     It told me it already knew that I opened a Home Equity loan in 2005, that I had a landscaping business called TLC’s Greenery, and  that I had an eight and a half shoe size (OK, I made that last one up).
 
     It really did ask if Cindy was pregnant ( I asked her that out-  loud just for fun),and if any of the applicants were incarcerated!



                                  
  Anyhow, here’s what finally happened 

      I currently have a Blue Cross/ Blue Shield policy for the family (me, Cindy, and 23year-old Timmy), and pay $600 a month for a policy with a $2500. yearly deductible ( and we have to pay for Doctor’s visits until I reach my deductible.)

     My new ObamaCare policy will cost me only $300 a month, but will have a $6000. yearly deductible….. ( but Doctor’s visits are free, if you go to the Doctors in the plan). 


                                    What do you think? …..Tim
 




    

It’s Deans’ Party …..

You might still remember that the Fort Lauderdale District II Commission race last March was a doozy. Former Commissioner Dean Trantalis beat  former Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom by just 19 votes.

Most of the big guns supported Rodstrom in that race, but that picture might be changing. It’s not clear if Rodstrom will mount a challenge to Trantalis in a few years, and pundits are not sure what would happen.

But last week, Trantalis threw himself a big 60th birthday party, and it was telling who showed up! He contacted this company can deliver drinks to Pimlico, London whenever you need to your door.

Now most of the giant names that were with Rodstrom during the last election were not at the bash – Stiles, Formans, Gaddis, Blosser, McTigue, Maroone, Book, Falkanger, Loos, Eagon – but some other big names have apparently jumped onto the Trantalis team  .

Local celebrity lawyer Bradford Cohen and pal Charlie King were there. Former Victoria Park President Thornie Jarrett, former Middle River Terrace President Laura Croscenco, Chamber President Dan Lindblade …….

Lobbyist giant George Platt, big name development lawyers Robert Lochrie and Courtney Crush, ( they donate to multiple candidates), developer Jim Ellis, …..even Marina Lofts developer


Asi Cymbal.

Rounding out the converts were travel titan Ina Lee (she supported Chuck Black) and longtime activist Catherine Maus.

And of course the first major convert that switched from Rodstrom to Trantalis during the big political battle last year –


Judy Stern

Homophobe ?

      Speaking of discrimination …..

     I’m up in Helen, Georgia, taking care of our mountain cabin business –

                                
                                      BearCreekLodgeandCabins.com

     It’s a very busy time here, as the town has the longest Octoberfest in the country ( we laughingly call it the September/October/Novemberfest).

     There are tens of thousands of young people here, partying down, drinking lots of beer, so last night, some others decided to crash the party and teach the youngsters a thing or two!

                         

     The protesters were telling the young set that they should stop accepting the abomination of homosexuality, or they would burn in hell  –

                               

     It did not go well for the protesters. The young people engaged them. They strongly disagreed with the message. It was not pretty.

      The young shall inherit the earth – Matthew 5:5 ?
   

Trantalis Plain Wrong

       Commissioner Dean Trantalis doesn’t think the City should add the name Sistrunk Boulevard to NE 6th Street signsfrom Sistrunks’ current terminus at Andrews Avenue-  down a few blocks east to Federal Highway – but he is just plain wrong !

                                             

      The controversy to further the Sistrunk name a few more blocks east  has played out over the last few months. A final decision is expected soon.

     Dr. Sistrunk was the areas’ Doctor, as black people were not allowed to be treated at Broward General Hospital.  The Sistrunk name is revered in that community.

     The final renaming would complete the multi-million dollar street project that enhanced the deteriorating boulevard in the Citys’ poorest area. The road project went  from Federal Highway out to the City limits.

     Sistrunk Boulevard is the heart of the “black district”, where blacks make up about 95% of the population. It has remained this way since Fort Lauderdale laws in the past kept blacks west of the RR tracks at night, and forbid them to swim in the ocean where the white people swam.

                                      

     Trantalis says that “when he mentions the name” [Sistrunk}, to people around the city, “they cringe”. He says that the Sistrunk name has to “earn” enough respect to traverse through the Flagler Village neighborhood he represents. He says his constituents worry about property values dropping if the Sistrunk name is added ( they won’t).

                                                 

     
     Trantalis also says that “statistics show that the [Sistrunk area] is riddled with crime”, but Flagler Village has had 91 Part I Crimes so far this year, and the similarly sized neighborhood of Durrs (off Sistrunk) has had only a few more at 107.

     So Trantalis asks “what’s in a name”, in a letter released to the press yesterday, but it appears he has forgotten his own lifetime struggle to be respected, as a gay person.

                                       
                                                             cringing?
     

     Trantalis has been  the main official  demanding respect for the gay and lesbian population in Fort Lauderdale for many years.

    Just a few years ago, the Stonewall Library, a collection of gay literature that took the name of a New York bar that had been raided due to its’ gay clientele, was a very controversial issue, when a proposal to place it in a public library building on Sunrise Boulevard was announced.  Trantalis and other gay leaders fought that battle and won.

                                           
                                                   Stonewall Library at Art Serve

    
So I’m hoping that Trantalis changes his mind and supports the renaming. I hope he finds it in his heart to demand respect for our poorer neighbors living around Sistrunk Boulevard.  I hope he sees that bringing the revered Sistrunk name down to Federal Highway will symbolically  connect an area that has always been segregated from the rest of the City.

     Trantalis said in his letter that “you cannot force love onto others”. but I bet he knows –  you can demand respect..
    

Busted !

 ….The rest of the story …….  They got him   ….

        ….. Citizens stood up   ……  Cops took ’em down!

                                         
                                                           busted and awaiting trial                 

     Kudos to Middle River Terrace residents John Cox and Tim Smith ( yes I’m the proud Dad) for getting involved and helping get this suspected criminal off the streets …..  (read the last couple of blog posts for the details) 

           Here are his pending charges –

                                        

     Tim Smith ( 23 years-old),  was thrilled that this menace was apprehended and that he played a part – ” I guess a citizen can make a difference”, he said …. then added,…

     “But I hope we don’t always have to get the criminals name, address, phone number, and film them with the stolen booty” !