Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

     My son Tim called me last night chuckling.
 
     He had found a 1966 Fort Lauderdale High School Year Book sitting on the side of the road in a box of assorted papers. Tim is a Fort Lauderdale High alumnus – circa 2008.

               

     So the students in the pictures below will now be the young age of 64 ….  the age in which the Beatles asked the probing question –  “will you still need me, will you still feed me – when I’m 64” ! 


               
                               ……    dancing at the prom!


                 
                                   …  running for Prom Queen …. !


    Lastly, here is the Graduating Class names  … your job is to find some of them, still here in the community ….can you?


             


                        Let me know !  ….   Tim
                                 

    Today was your chance to be a Visionary, to think and plan the Fort Lauderdale of tomorrow!

                       
    
     Unfortunately, very few of you took part.


          


       For the last few years, the City has been trying to take stock, figure out what kind of City it wants to be when it grows up.

       The Visioning effort, designed to do just that,  has been slowly, sometimes painfully, working its’ way toward todays’ Visioning finale – the Citizens Visioning Summit.

     The Summit was advertised heavily, but the turn out was very weak.

     Mayor Seiler, in his opening remarks, said he was frustrated at the low turn out. Seiler said as he glanced at the crowd of about 100 people and saw the same usual volunteers that he sees around City Hall. 

     Seiler attended with his colleagues (except Commissioner Rodstrom, who didn’t attend) and finished his remarks by joking that he had gotten quite a few good ideas by e-mail from the citizens concerning Vision. He said he sent the good ones right off to Manager Feldmans’ email box, and put the rest in another box on his own computer!

                                 

     
     The Summit was well done. About ten groups talked about things like Infrastructure, Flooding, Trains and Trolleys and Culture. After the ideas were discussed, everyone got up and dot voted on the ones they liked best.

     The charts were then packed up and sent off to be tabulated.

           

     
     And in the end, the participants got a chance to listen to the children, that had been in a separate room at “Vision Camp”.


             


     The kids gave their names and what they wanted to be when they grew up.

     We got a good idea of what they had been doing all morning while their parents were Visioning – most said they wanted to design Legos when they grew up!

                 
                       ( … And thanks to Art Seitz for the photography)
     
      





     
     

     Couldn’t wait to get up this morning and go talk politics at my local diner !

                                    
                                       Quality Diner – Wilton Manors

     Lots of important people wander into the Quality Diner in Wilton Manors.

    Wayne Huizenga, King Wilkenson, Terry Stiles,  FLPD  retirees, business people, reporters, and lots of local politicians eat there occasionally – but this morning I was quite shocked at who cozied up and sat down to eat some eggs, and chat with me and my friend Bruce!


            

     Geez that guy gets around!


     PS ….   we voted down the bad amendment that increased the terms for Fort Lauderdale politicians !  …Good work all around!

     I’ve already voted, and you probably have too!

                                    

     But just in case you are one of those that likes to vote – ON voting day,  I’d like to try and persuade you to vote against  just one item, just one ………..  and I’ll get to that in just a second.

                                                   

     First,  I’d like to share with you something very interesting. I’d like to show just how good we have it in Broward/Fort Lauderdale, when it comes to voting, compared to some other places.

     Now many of you know that Cindy and I have a cabin business in Georgia (Bear Creek Lodge and Cabins), that we open in the summer and fall. Well I’m up here this week closing the cabins for the winter, and decided to stop in the voting precinct for  Robertstown, just a few miles north of our cabins in Helen, Georgia.

         Here is the official voting precinct

                

     No, I’m not making this up!

     The door was propped open, and the guy at the boiled peanuts and pork rinds shop next door said they left the door open to “air it out”, and “spruce it up” – get it ready for the big voting day!

                                    
                                        ……..  a Georgia State delicacy!

     So, I popped my head in to check out the voting booths! ………….

                    

                   No, I’m still not kidding.  …….    I guess they hadn’t finish sprucing!

         ……………………………………………………………….
      And lastly, that item that I said I’d like to persuade you to vote against if you’re voting on Tuesday, is the Municipal Elections Amendment on your ballot.

      It will be the last item on your ballot. The amendment asks you to approve changes to how we elect our officials. There are some good parts in the amendment, but the problem is, it negates the term limit  law we finally got passed in Fort Lauderdale about a decade ago.

              So Just Vote NO! …..  (and while you’re at it, thank Dr. Snipes for the nice voting booths!)

    

    

     Crime Bit # 1.)

     When foster kids turn 18 years old, they are summarily tossed from the foster kids program.

                                          
 
             The kids are often not ready to fend for themselves, and there is a charitable organization in Fort Lauderdale called Homes Inc. , that picks up the slack and houses them and trains them to mainstream into society.

     Yesterday, all of Homes Inc.’s Hurricane Shutters were stolen. All 50 of them!  They are distraught and ask anyone who has knowledge of who took them to call the Police. Also, if you can help Homes Inc. in any way, call Katherine Barry, the charities’ President, at 954-563-5454.

     Crime Bit #2.)

     We’ve been talking about the #1 in crime, per capita, neighborhood of Progresso lately. Well if the new President of the neighborhood, Brad Cohen, has his way, Progresso won’t lead the list for long.

                                                        
                                                                   Cohen

     Last weekend, Progresso fought crime in a creative way – an anti -crime neighborhood picnic! Cohen says the event was a rousing success, city officials and police mixed and mingled, munched hamburgs, and registered residents’ bicycles.

     Cohen says we should recognize one of our finest, who spent all day at the picnic, playing football with the kids and talking safety, all on his day off!

                                 
                                                     Officer Fopiano

     Crime Bit #3).

     The neighborhood of South Middle River is holding a rally on Friday Nov. 2, from 5:30 to 6:30, at Andrews and NW 15th Street.

                                    
                                                 South Middle River
 
     They are rallying to demand  that the City pave the 14 street ends that have never been paved in their neighborhood. They say the unkempt, shadowy street butts are a haven for crime and criminals.

    

 

     At last Saturdays’ Harvest Picnic in Imperial Point. ….. Mayor Jack (with the band)  …

          

            Click on “Comment” below, and give us the best caption! Win the prize!

            

                            Thanks to Art Seitz for the Picture  …..

     We will ALL vote in  just two weeks! Right?

     Probably most importantly, we will decide if President Obama, or former Governor Romney,  should serve as our President for the next four years………

                                      
   

                      But we will also vote on things that are important  …..

                                    only to us in  …  Fort Lauderdale!

    
                                          
                                                  Mayor and Commishes

     On your ballot, you will see an amendment to the Fort Lauderdale Charter. It will ask if you want to change the City’s Charter ( Constitution) to allow for a change in the way we elect our Mayor and Commissioners.

     Vote against it!  ….. 

     The problem with this amendment is that it extends the amount of years that the  Fort Lauderdale Mayors and Commissioners can stay on the Commission!

      Now, the Mayor and Commissioners can serve for 9 years, and that’s enough!

                  

     If the Amendment passes, Mayors and Commissioners will be able to serve 12 years!

     Just Vote No !

    

         

                                            
 

                 

     Sal Gatanio, President of the South Middle River Civic Association is MAD MAD MAD! 

                                  
                                Gatanio, when smiling



     South Middle River has more crime (5th in per capita) than any neighborhood in the City. Last night, there was another disturbance in his neighborhood, and what follows is Sal’s e-mail to one of the residents that lives near the disturbance.

     Here is Sal’s text from last evening

     2 cops arrived and did nothing.

     I was there, they drove by and I asked for a call back and nothing. As a matter of fact I got photos of the people who were with the guy that pulled a gun on me and still no call back.
 
     The group of women hanging out at the house across from you by nw 11 st told me clearly to go Fuck myself while police cars were behind me. Still no call back from the police.
 
     To top it off I am blasting on facebook and our website a video of one of the riots that took place directly there. Maybe our mayor and city manager are waiting for one of the innocent people to get shot. Can’t be any other reason for the city to ignore this community.

     Nick, it is clear now that we cannot depend on the mayor we elected to give one damn about South Middle River. It is clear the city manager will not put any money towards us. The mayor asked me to talk to Lee Feldman to help clean up the trash all along nw 11 st from Nw 4ave to Nw 3 ave. Excuses about the city having to foot the bill so now since my bike ride with Jack 13 weeks ago, the trash still sits there, the guns are flying free and the third world country lives and breaths is south middle river.
 
     I will walk by and if I get shot or beaten from these violent animals, well at least our mayor and city manager will have one less person to worry about. Apologies for my grammar as I am in the car and at an absolute shock at the neglect from the police and city management. One can only come to the conclusion that the city has given direct orders to let South Middle River rot in hell.
 
     I especially apologise that I have been pushed to thiis point as no citizen in our city deserves this. I extend my sympathy to you Nick for having to live next door to a bunch of criminals that our city cannot control. You have a wonderful home and I ask you to lock your doors and if you have any weapons to protect yourself, use them cautiosly.

     I’ll keep you informed…. Tim

     Represented?

The rules for the special District II City Commissioner election (Rodstrom seat)  is on the City Commission agenda tomorrow.


    
      Controversy proceeds tomorrow’s discussion.

      Former beach area President (and former Commission candidate)  Steve Glassman, has sent out an e-mail to  District II leaders,( and the City Commission), complaining about the months that the District II seat will remain empty, making District II residents unrepresented on the City Commission. Others have been commenting on Glassman’s e-mail (below) all weekend.

     

                                                
                                                                          Glassman

         Dear District II Neighborhood Presidents, Activists, and Neighbors-

      Attached you will find a memorandum from the City Attorney to the Mayor and Commission for discussion at this Tuesday’s Conference meeting (BUS 6).  Without assigning blame and going through a long litany of “would have, could have, should have,” the bottom line is that we, the residents of District II, are facing four months with no representation on the Commission dais.  I find this to be unacceptable, and I hope you do, too.  Four months is a long time: at least 16 Commission meetings, workshops, daily issues facing each neighborhood, crime, development projects, and on and on. 

      The Charter requires the special election(s) because of the time served thus far in the term, but does it actually preclude the Commission from placing an interim person in the seat until the election?  Isn’t there some way to guarantee that the large number of taxpaying citizens (and this district pays quite a bit of taxes!) have a voice in the decision-making and that there is a point person looking out for our interests?  Who would residents call?  (One would assume, and fairness to all of the candidates dictates, that once the Commissioner steps down on November 19, then the Commission aide must step down as well.)

      If you find this situation troubling, please take a moment to contact the Mayor and Commission ( I have copied them on this as well) before Tuesday and express yourself.  Also, I apologize if I omitted anyone on this distribution list; hopefully, the presidents can share this with your boards and neighbors.

      Thank you for taking the time to consider this; enjoy your weekend.

                                   Steve Glassman


          Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom didn’t take kindly to Glassman’s e-mail –

  
Tim
     First of all Mr. Glassman’s email is inaccurate in so many ways. He obviously has not read or understands the charter.

     I feel confident that the District 2 citizens will be represented well by the Mayor and my colleagues, city staff, the manager and the hundreds of employees that serve them everyday and who will continue to do so. I have out reached to the district leadership and they understand that I will continue to advocate on their behalf. I will be working to ensure the shortest possible time frame.

     Perhaps his email was a reaction to the item on the agenda Tuesday. I hope that gives you a little more perspective.

Thank you
Charlotte 

    
       Glassman and Rodstrom used to be friendly.

           
              now-a-days? …not so much!

     Some District II leaders have sent e-mails mostly supporting Glassman’s opinion.

     And, all the other candidates in the District II race weighed in on Glassman’s concerns.
 
    Dean Trantalis – “if Charlotte had made her resignation take effect 13 days earlier, we would not be having this discussion, nor would the City be saddled with a potential expense of over $200,000.

     Chuck Black – “the Commission can and should defer all significant items [affecting District II] until a time that the seat is filled”.

     Robert Walsh – “I absolutely agree with Steve Glassman.”


    Even local irritant Charlie King jumped in the debate. 

    King is a strong supporter of Rodstrom,(and Newt Gingrich), and took Glassman to task on Glassman’s estimate of four months of no representation for District II. 

    Glassman pointed out in a return e-mail that the general election for the seat will take place in March, four months from now. 


                      
                            King
        
              
          I’ll keep you informed!  … Tim