Month: November 2014

Want to have fun? Then here is one to put on the calendar –

 

Sunday, December 7th 2014 –

 

Fort Lauderdale- the History, a two act play, will be performed on the grounds of the historic 1915 Annie Beck House, (which is in the Middle River Terrace Park on Dixie Highway – 1329 N. Dixie) ..

The play is being produced by the 13th Street Alliance, who manages the house for the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation, who saved it from the wrecking ball some years back, and moved it to the park….

And get this – the Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners, Police Chief, City Manager, the Director of Riverwalk, Prez of the Council of Neighborhoods etc, are the actors !!! ( sounds even funner now eh?)

 

The play tells the story of  Fort Lauderdale from 1793-1960 – 

And yes, Connie Francis will be there to sing Where the Boys Are – well kinda!

 

The event starts at 2:30 with a cocktail party (open bar – lots of  eats) for $20, ( it’s a fundraiser for the perpetual care of the historic house) or you can just come to the play for free – it starts at 4 pm!

If you have questions, or want me to save you a good seat, e-mail me at tim@timsmith.com

See you then!

 

 

What to do with the chronically homeless  is the big news this month in Fort Lauderdale  …..  but it was also the big news in the summer of 1994. 

And embroiled in both controversies, spanning the decade,  is infamous Fort Lauderdale Attorney William Scherer. Attorneys can be famous, like the cannabis attorney in Raleigh, for the things they have done for society and also the other way around. He and some famous lawyers from Tomes Law Firm, PC is an example of how an attorney or the people in power should be.

 

 

This month, Scherer has been busy on all the TV channels, quoted in the newspapers, and filing up lawsuits with the help of attorneys for estate planning in support of his  homeless clients. To help such homeless people, you can also find an adoption law firm that is ready to provide them shelter and support.

Problem is, Scherer has been on all sides of this difficult  issue –

…………. follow the timeline  ……

 

November 2014 –  Scherer said that “freedom of religion, speech, and association” are not being treated equally (to the homeless), and that this ordinance is intended to “run ’em out of town” …. 

but in May 1994,  –(in his role as a Board Member of the DDA (Downtown Development Authority, ) Scherer said – ” the “homeless camp must leave downtown”,   and then said Board members should call their County Commissioners to” keep the pressure up”  ….. In the DDA June, 1994 meeting, Mr. Scherer added to the discussion “it is absurd that 180 people cause this kind of problem in a community of 1 million”  …

 

………. but back to November 2014 –  the City “took a big ax and is chopping away at constitutional rights”  ….. and “my client has as much right to have people there as I did for my children’s 4th of July picnic”

 

……    but back again to 1994 – Mr. Scherer said the homeless situation was going to “cause the east side people to revolt” …..   Scherer also said at the time – we may be missing an opportunity to gain evidence that none of these people are making an effort to go back to work because they are substance abusers or alcoholics, or other misfits that cannot work” ….. Scherer then noted that the South Florida Mental Institution is currently vacant” .. You can contact an estate planning law firm for special needs to help in such situation.

 

…… lastly, once more – back to November 2014 –  Scherer said “we are prepared to go all the way to the Supreme Court”……….

 

………….   yes, we get that Scherer, but on which side ?????

Our town has taken a shellacking on the National News the last few weeks.

 

 

According to the staff at City Hall,  the tons of  calls and e-mails coming in from outside the city and state are nearly all against the new ordinances.

But the calls also show that we citizens of Fort Lauderdale are generally supportive  …. Even though we don’t all agree on the homeless issue completely, I think we all agree that those from elsewhere that think we are all  heartless boobs have got it all wrong !

So that got me thinking this morning while on my daily training run  ….. What could we do to ban together ….I know, form Team Fort Lauderdale …. get the whole story out !

Now, I’m not sure how exactly we should do that, ( that’s the benefit of being a former Commissioner), but each of us, as a team member,  should do our part,  in our own special way,  to set the record straight,

Here’s my little part for today —  the 13th Street Alliance is holding the first ever road race along 13th Street in February …

 

          So, I’ve just started a Team Fort Lauderdale for the Funky Fun Run ,   ….

 

…… start training for it like I am  …… write  Team Fort Lauderdale on your training shirt as I will……  you will be making a statement that you are proud of being a Fort Lauderdalian, and getting in shape at the same time!

Here I am just minutes after this morning’s training run

Here I am just a few minutes after that –

 

Go Team Fort Lauderdale !!

 

 

Hi friends ! ( even you others!) … My last post was a spoof  …..  not true … meant as satire …. don’t believe it!

 

….. …..I’ve never done this before, but that last post was sent to me from an exceptionally witty person that’s been around a long time – and I couldn’t help myself  …

 

…… at the end, I Datelined it as April 1st, to let you know not to take it seriously,  but some of you didn’t read to the end! …..

 

……………… I just hope I didn’t give Abbott any new ideas!! …………..Tim

 

Today was the hearing, brought by two residents of District III, asking to deny Robert McKinzie the Fort Lauderdale Commission seat.

 

 

    McKinzie

The lawsuit for an injunction, stating that McKinzie didn’t live in the District,  was denied by the Judge –

 

 

tell it to the Judge

The Judge said, basically, that there was not an emergency, as the City had already sworn McKinzie in, but that the Plaintiff Attorney could come back to the Court and file a motion for a full hearing ( on whether or not McKinzie met the qualifications for the seat – residing in the District).

The Plaintiff’s attorney thinks they can prove that McKinzie actually lives in Plantation.

 

 

Plaintiff  Attorney Bob Nichols

 Interestingly, after the hearing ended, McKinzie’s lawyer Greg Durden,  told me that McKinzie had just petitioned the Property Appraiser to delete the Homestead designation from his house in Plantation.

 

McKinzie attorney Greg Durden, (on left!)

 

No word yet if the plaintiffs will file for the full hearing.

 

 

You are all volunteers, that’s my bet.

So if you have a few hours available this Saturday morning ( 8am until noon), here’s another opportunity to shore up your place in line in heaven!

 

The Judge Fred Shippey home –  (Broward’s second Judge that lived in Sailboat Bend in the early 20th century, married hundreds of couples, including Tarzan) was saved from the wrecking ball by historic activists and trucked down to a City owned lot in the historic district a few years back…..

Here’s what the century old  house once looked like –

 

 

Then look below at what the house looked like after the move, and years of neglect, and after the hoodlums got a hold of it-

 

 

But here is how the great volunteers cleaned, painted, and otherwise shaped up the Shippey House last year!

 

 

So, this Saturday you wonderful citizens ( are you one of those?) will be back at it, mostly doing yard work type things, while the historic preservationists finish their plans for the final use of this City treasure….

At least let’s get the house looking something like this again!

 

 

…..See you Saturday morning, bring clippers, gloves, rakes etc….

Tim  … 954-822-4727

 

 

Robert McKinzie is slated to be sworn in as a Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner on Monday.

 

 

Or maybe not! …. A lawsuit has been filed to stop that, saying that McKinzie does not live in the District, and therefore does not qualify to be a Fort Lauderdale District III Commissioner. The emergency hearing will most probably be heard prior to the swearing in time on Monday.

So, I decided to play detective this rainy Sunday morning and go try to find out if McKinzie lives in District III, or not –

First, I had to have some breakfast, so I headed out to the best soul food restaurant in the city for some breakfast!

 

Betty’s Soul Food restaurant  on Sistrunk …. Scrambled eggs, polish sausage, and collards ! ….. yummm!

Then it was over to 505 NW 19th Avenue  …… That address is in the District, and is the address that McKinzie put on his application to be appointed the temporary District III Commissioner seat ( to fill the Commissioner Bobby Dubose seat, since he got elected to a State Representative spot on Nov. 4th) . The race to fill the District III seat permanently, will take place  at the regularly scheduled City Elections in March.

The lawsuit says McKinzie does not really live at 505, and  the Property Appraiser lists McKinzie and wife Deberina as homesteaders on a $444,000 house in Plantation in Plantation Golf Estates.

The house McKinzie  claims to be living in at 505 is valued at $68,000. Here it is –

 

After my collards, I knocked on this door. No one was home .Truthfully, it was a tidy little house, but didn’t look very lived in. All the blinds were closed shut, so you couldn’t see if it was properly furnished etc. In the front were these old signs –

 

The signs say McKinzie for County Commission, which McKinzie ran for years ago ….  So I couldn’t tell definitively  if he lives there or not, …..  but either way, he should probably be disqualified for this next picture – the yard art in the front yard-

 

 

Now that’s tacky!  …. But maybe I’ll go back later today, maybe first thing in the morning, all inquiring minds want to know-

 

 Where does Robert McKinzie really live ??

Letter to the Editor and Michael Mayo

 

It’s easy to criticize Fort Lauderdale’s new law that controls the feeding of its homeless in its City.

After all, citing, and maybe even eventually jailing a feisty 90 year old man, a longtime advocate of the weak and downtrodden, for just providing three squares a day seems untenable, almost mean.

 

But it’s not, let me explain.

Most of the homeless folks that Arnold Abbott feeds are not the homeless that are temporarily without a roof due to a sudden hardship, loss of a job, or serious illness that left them penniless and living on the streets.

No, we, as a community in Broward County, have spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personal efforts to provide for those unfortunate, fellow human beings. We built, maintain, and fund programs like the the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC), and other County and City programs that provide temporary housing, job placement and training for those.

The new Fort Lauderdale law, addresses another group of human beings that find themselves homeless and in trouble in our fair City. They are the mentally ill, the chronic drug or alcohol abusers, or the smaller group of adults that simply choose to abandon responsibility and live off the fat of the land.

Arnold Abbott, and maybe you, feel that feeding folks a meal – even to this group of the most needy must be a good thing to do, but in reality IT is the mean thing, or at the very least, the  irresponsible thing to do.

If we just feed these unfortunate folks with serious problems, and then send them off to find a bush or bench to sleep, we might go back to our safe home and  feel better, but those sad afflicted fellow human being are really no better off for the temporary help.

So let’s support the new laws, and really help. Let’s now find a way to fund programs that deal with our weaker fellow humans problems with drugs, alcohol, and mental instabilities. Let’s find a way to house them, treat them, monitor and mentor them. Let’s decide as a City that living on the streets is not good enough for Fort Lauderdale, let’s start a trend!

Then Arnold Abbotts’ life mission might have a true chance of making a real difference.

 

. …   I’m a Democrat, and if you read yesterday’s post (always available at TimSmith.com !)   you’ll know I, in particular, am in deep doo-doo ! (Go back one post if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

…..  You see, not only did my party take a serious shellacking in Florida, and nationally, but my local pick didn’t make it either!  And then there is that issue about the bird deposits!

 

……There was only one thing to do –