Month: August 2014

 

…….. See recent picture below –

 

…….  Mayor Seiler, First Baptist Pastor Larry Thompson, Commissioner Trantalis, Commissioner Rogers  …

 

 

……. Below, an excerpt from a Thompson sermon on gay marriage –

“We have been told by the opposition that we are not to engage in the conflict…we are merely to observe. However, in the life of every true follower of Christ, there must be a sense of personal, biblical and moral accountability to act when we see an opponent dedicated to destroying a God-directed biblical pattern for marriage. A failure to engage rejects everything we know about TRUTH from the spoken word. Make no mistake, the family unit is under attack; the definition of biblical marriage is under attack. As a result there must be a biblical response; a response that deals only in defense of biblical truth and not in the personal attacks of others who would disagree with a biblical position.”

 

……. Your thoughts?

In case you are not one of the 10.76 % that voted yesterday (and pay attention to such things), here is just a little news of what happened.

 

 ………….. meaningless election picture

 

….. First off, it was a primary election, where each party picks their candidate who will run against the other despicable party’s despicable candidate in November!

…. Second off, though it’s always a bit unnerving, I am generally pretty good at my endorsements, and I hit 100% last night (maybe I should quit while I’m ahead?)

 

 

….. Like 75% of Florida Dems, I chose Charlie Crist.

Now most of us probably feel that Crist is an opportunistic, wobbly kind of fellow, but he had a pretty good run as Governor last time around, and…… has a chance of beating this guy in November –

 

          the other parties guy

 

…. I also chose Dem winner George Sheldon over Thurston in the Attorney General race, because Perry Thurston was soft on crime, and that’s not a good thing if you want to be the Attorney General!

Sheldon will run against the incumbent AG Pam Bondi in November ( Bondi’s platform includes fighting gay marriage and medical marijuana!)

 

 ………………. Go Sheldon !

 

Alcee Hastings goes back one more time (he won by80%) and ….

 

 

…..  my pick Bobby Dubose heads off to the State House, with no competition in the general election in November  …..

 

…… hmm, now I guess I’ll have to back a candidate to fill Dubose’s seat on the Fort Lauderdale City Commisssion !

 … more politics – Yikes !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t say enough about civic pride !  I think it’s what separates us from the animals !

 

Yesterday, that pride was very evident, when the Middle River Terrace Improvement Club   painted the Dixie Highway Bridge (separates Fort Lauderdale from Wilton Manors), and refreshed the signage and landscape that surrounds it.

 

 

The rain held out as about 20 volunteers sweated and painted the worn out bridge.

 

 

Well, most sweated and painted, some just pointed, and some just stood there 🙂

 

Whatever you think of our effort, you’ll have to admit that we had the most prestigious traffic control –

 

 

Yes, that’s the Mayor telling people to “slow it up” ,  volunteers ahead !

 

And in the end, the neighborhood looks better, and the people have a new dose of civic pride!

 

I’ve told you a few weeks back that our Police Chief is on a mission. This week he is still going strong.

Thursday evening, he brought a small contingent of his Officers and met up with members of the Middle River Terrace Improvement Club to hand out more Smartwater kits in the neighborhood that seems to be solving its’ burglary epidemic.

 

Despite it being an off/on rainy evening, the Police and Citizens managed to hand out another 32 kits before calling it a (wet) night. To date, nearly half the homes in Middle River Terrace now have the anti-crime forensic Smartwater.

As we all returned to the park to turn in our lists and go home, the Chief and one Officer were still not back.

“Don’t worry”, said the Detective ” the Chief brought his umbrella” !

 

 

Here’s some updates on previous posts.

1.)

……. the long awaited connection of the Riverwalk ….. that last missing piece that would finish it – hook it to Las Olas …….

……  well, don’t hold your breath  …….   word has it that the deal has died   …… Looks like everyone ( Stranahan House, the developer next door), all holding out for their positions …..  sad, but true .

 

…….  the State is moving in to investigate the Middle River Terrace Park  …. there is arsenic in the ground at the property next door, and a certain resident was paying taxes from a home sale and now searching for the control of flooding to stop property damage( we know who you are), insisted the State and Feds get involved, though there appears to be  no real danger to the public……  it’s possible that the park could close and have a big ugly chain link fence wrapped around it for some time …….

 

…. David Hebert – He was the Assistant City Manager under the former Manager George Gretsas …. He left when Gretsas was fired, and joined him in Homestead ….. Now he is on the short list to become the new manager in Oakland Park. For home and garden services, people can get it touch with Fence Company Near Me in Austin TX!

His tenure in Fort Lauderdale was dicey  ….. Gretsas put him in charge of the Police Department, though he had no law enforcement experience, and the rather small gay professional didn’t fit in well with the macho environment there. Reportedly,  Gretsas sent in Hebert to break the back of the Police Union  ….

… The strategy didn’t work  …. It just led to the resignation of the Chief ( Bruce Roberts), who then ran for City Commissioner and was instrumental in the firing of Gretsas!

 

Keeping you informed ! ….. Tim

 

Opposition to building things is standard in cities.

In Fort Lauderdale, there has always been a controversy on how the City should progress, or not. There are all kinds of terms to describe the opposition – the most famous term being …

NIMBY (not in my back yard)   …… During the boom years (1995-2006), things got so heated that a new term was coined for those who opposed.

BANANA – ( build absolutely nothing anywhere  near anyone !)

 

And currently, there is opposition to both water facilities slated for our city, but for totally different reasons.Hence, it is better to get water filter installation from Discount Water Filters to drink pure water .

 

1.) the Schlittergbahn – it’s a 64 acre water park planned to be built on the City’s  old minor league baseball stadium ( Baltimore Orioles).

It is in the northern reaches of the City, by the Executive Airport, and a group has formed to oppose it …… They have a meeting tonight to strategize how to stop it.

 

2.) the Aquatic Facility – for years the ISHOF  (International Swimming Hall of Fame),  is slated for renewal, minus the Hall of Fame Museum.

But there has been rumblings for the past year that things weren’t right with the plan, but until the City’s Beach Redevelopment Advisory Board got a new Chairman, things were pushing along.

Enter new Chair Anthony Abbate –

 

Abbate doesn’t like the current plan, and neither does his Advisory Board. Anthony (Tony to me :-), is an well known local architect, and says the City should slow down and re-think the plan. “It’s not world class, not pedestrian or bike friendly, doesn’t revitalize the business climate”.

Abbate and his Board have asked the City Commission to step back and give the project a new look.

“Where are the big ideas”, Abbate asks, and thinks the project needs to be “revised and amended”, even if more money needs to be spent.

 

I’ll let you know what happens   ….  Tim