Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

     I  made it just under the wire!

     In the closing minutes of the government’s Cash For Clunkers program, I Clunked!

                                                   

     It made perfect sense for me to Clunk, Afterall, behind my back ( and sometimes right up front) my best friends and family whisper things like “geesh, Tim has a lot of Clunkers“, and “has Tim bought a car that was built in this century?”, and ” I sure hope Tim has Triple A” !

     So, after procrastinating until the very last second, I pulled the trigger. It was hard to decide which Clunker I could part with from my fleet of Clunkers, but I did the eeny,meeny,miny,moe thing and it was done!

     Here is our car salesman “Rusty” ,  (he introduced himself as “Rusty, like a nail”), tagging my old Ford Ranger with it’s death sentence – “Cash for Clunker”, do not resuscitate!

                                                 

     The deal was not to be believed. The MSRP for our new Nissan was close to $17,000. We were ready to leave the dealership, as due to our frugal nature we had decided to spend about $10,000, after the Clunking. The Clunk only brought us down to $12,500, but Rusty wanted a deal. We settled on $10,400!

     We’re now down one Clunker, with this in it’s place:

                                       

                               So, gracious thanks to whoever made this possible:  the Taxpayers, the Congress, the White House?

                                                           We promise to hang on to this until it becomes a Clunker!

     I couldn’t start a blog entitled “Random Summer Thoughts” without this comment – damn it’s been a hot summer in Fort Lauderdale. Is it global warming, a cyclical occurrence, or am I just getting old and cranky? The wife votes #3!

     There’s not too much local news to report. The Fort Lauderdale City Commission is on vacation, and most Fort Lauderdalians are either holed up in their air conditioned home, office, and car – keeping a low profile, or are off to some exotic cool locale themselves (can we say hello Rodstroms!).
                                                             
                                                        hello Rodstroms!

     But the most fevered part of this summer hasn’t included meteorology at all. It’s the steamy Health Care / Health Insurance Reform controversy.  Like many of you, I’ve been glued to the screen, captive of the car radio, reading all the papers I can find. I am fascinated. Here are some of the more common comments we’ve witnessed:

               …………   we’re losing our liberty
               …………   the country is going communist/socialist
               …………   no government control of health insurance/ keep your hands off my Medicare!
               …………   Obama  doesn’t care about you, only about control
               …………   They want to pull the plug on Grandma!
     
     But I think much of the opposition to reform is rooted in a deeper psychological place than those superficial sound bites would portray. Here’s what I mean:

 The bulk of the people yelling at the town hall meetings look quite alike – kinda like me – older,  quite white, and basically crabby!

                                                                      
                                                                older mad white guy

     Yes, I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of the angst and consternation we are witnessing is because the country is changing it’s flavor, it’s complexion, it’s make-up, and there might lie the rub.
      As I was growing up pure WASP, it was pretty clear to me that I would have a leg up when I reached my current ripe old age of 53 years-old. I would be in charge, on the top, competition restricted.

     After all, woman weren’t equal to us guys just a decade or two ago. Hell, back in the day, woman stayed home, had babies, cooked dinner! Now they are running corporations, demanding equal pay!

     And  blacks, hispanics, asians, foreign borners, homosexuals, even the disabled knew their place.

     Soon, if I live long enough, I’ll be the minority!  And yes, there just might lie the rub.     

        

     The Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief, James Eddy, has resigned.

    Though no official word has yet come from City Hall, insiders report that Eddy offered his letter of resignation to City Manger George Gretsas, and is expected to leave officially in October.

                                       Update… the City has confirmed Eddy’s departure !

  Chief Eddy

     Eddy has been on the job for only three and a half years, and much of that has been mired in controversy. 

     From the start, critics pointed to his lack big city Fire Chief experience ( he had last been a Fire Chief in 1990, in a considerably smaller city than Fort Lauderdale). Also, detractors bemoaned the fact that Eddy had been running a business identifying causes of fires for the last 15 years.

     After arriving in Fort Lauderdale, Eddy was thrust into overseeing the City’s plans for ten new fire stations, paid for with a voter approved bond referendum of $40 million dollars. The plans turned out to be faulty, cost estimates for construction were way low, and major adjustments have had to be made. 

     Conjecture about Eddy’s replacement has already begun.

     Will Gretsas try and hire from within and escape the criticism he received when he hired Eddy? Recently retired Assistant Fire Chief Steve McInerny was a top contender for the job when Eddy was picked, but has recently become the Fire Chief in Naples.

       
    Naples Fire Chief McInerny

     Current Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Justinak, once head of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Fighters Union, is surely a possible candidate.

              
       Assistant Chief Justinak

     Stayed Tuned !  ………….Tim

     My friend Peter Feldman is dead at the young age of 54 years old –  far too young to die, especially for someone like Pete.

     I’m sad, but for some odd reason,  pleasantly reflective.
 
     I’ve been  thinking about PT Boy all day (that’s what my wife Cindy and I , and our son Timmy affectionately called him) .

     He had been a good friend of our family for  20 and some years.  I had met him through our mutual interest in a rough part of Fort Lauderdale called Flagler Heights. Flagler Heights is a neighborhood  just north of Downtown, but far enough north, and far enough west,  to not to really matter, or so everyone thought!

     But it mattered to Peter Feldman.. .. and that turned out to be enough! 

     Peter put his head down and forged ahead. He bought house after house, slum after slum. The years passed, the decades passed,. It looked like it may be a false dream…  the kind you just wake up from….
 
     But miraculously,  Peter prevailed. Just this past year, in the middle of the worst economic tsunami in decades, Peter’s dream happened.   

     ….Flagler Village, all eight stories and block after block of redevelopment splendor came alive. In the worst economic downturn in nearly a century, only Peter Feldman was building. His developer buddies were finally envious of Petey. He deserved that moment.

     ….. I’ll remember you fondly Peter, and Cindy and Timmy say hi, … you were a bright spot in our lives, and we hope to see you on the other side…… Tim   

     We do have history in Fort Lauderdale! As a matter of fact, we will be 99 years old next March!

     I just received this great photo from my buddy Rob. …..  Check it out!

                    

     The Picture was taken by the Navy during World War II, – 1943

     Fort Lauderdale played an important role during the war, though our beaches were cordoned off with barb wire, and the German U- boats were often spotted just off the coast…. Many of the servicemen that were stationed here during the war came back after the war and settled here.

   The plane is an SB2C Helldiver, and the bridge behind it’s tail is the old flat Las Olas bridge. That’s the future Bahia Mar Yacht Basin under the plane. You can barely make out the Sunrise blvd. bridge up the Intracoastal, and you can see the Federal Highway running north near the top left of the picture. That’s the Middle River just to the right of the highway. 

     With a magnifying glass, you can see Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom’s house on Nurmi Isle! 
   ( yes Charlotte, I know you weren’t even born yet!)

     The planning for the City’s 100th  birthday party is getting into full swing. Why don’t you get involved! …   ….e-mail Mayor Jack Seiler at JSeiler@fortlauderdale.gov if you can help……..

     I’m a fan of Jack Seiler.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                

      Seiler
   
      He’s one of those rare public servants that truly believes in serving the public, and he’s been doing it quite capably for many years. And I’ve been impressed with his service as Mayor of Fort Lauderdale these last couple of months.

     But last week he screwed up.

      Here’s what happened.

     Earl Rynerson, who most of you will remember ran for the Mayor’s seat against Seiler, received a letter to his business last week.
It was from Seiler’s office, Seiler himself, ( on City stationary ) and it encouraged Rynerson, and other local businesses to advertise in a private business venture.

     Now Rynerson has been on the war  path against Jack for months, after coming in a distant third in the Mayor’s race. His web site often seems bitter, and, in my opinion, flaky on many issues. But Seiler’s letter gave Earl some valid ammunition to criticize him with this time.
     Here’s a link to Rynerson’s site that included Rynerson’s criticism of the letter, and the actual letter.
   http://abetterftlauderdale.com/?p=246

     Rynerson

    Here’s the problem.

     The venture Seiler touts is being done by Dolph Map, a  private company, but Seiler’s letter glosses over that. The letter states that the City was “working” with Dolph to produce it. It says important City numbers and programs will be on the map. It explains that businesses could sponsor it, and that they should “not delay”. It’s called the official sounding Fort Lauderdale City Mapping Project.

     The problem is, it is not a City endeavor, was not brought before the City Commission for public review and discussion, not competitively bid, not really associated with the City at all.

     And to make matters worse, Rynerson ties the Dolph Map Company with contributions to Seiler’s political campaign, and campaign signs that Dolph erected on their coveted Federal Highway location during the Mayor’s race. Apparently, former  Mayor Jim Naugle did the same thing for Dolph, which should have sent up a red flag for Seiler right there!

     I don’t believe there was anything sinister or nefarious in Seiler’s actions, just a mistake he should admit to and move on.

     Now that’s the way I see it. But if I’m wrong, I have a back-up plan.

     It’s the Fort Lauderdale City Landscaping Guide.  The publication, free to the public, will answers all questions about our local Fort Lauderdale landscapes. Since I’m a recognized expert in the field, it’s a natural. The Guide will explain how to plant for droughts, what trees to plant, what City departments can help and how.

     And of course, it will be quite profitable for me, having that introductory letter from the Mayor’s office!

    

    

    

    Sometimes, all it takes is a little common sense to solve a problem. This week, Mayor Jack Seiler offered some up.

    
                        
                                                                    
                                                                           old what’s his name  and Mayor Jack Seiler! 

     There has been a technical glitch at City Hall for the past few weeks. Generally, if you want to know what’s coming up on the City Commission’s agenda, you could just log on to the City’s web site at www.fortlauderdale.gov and check it out.

     Now, most of us don’t.

     But thankfully, there are a few dozens watchdogs ( some City Staffers use other names for them!) that always pay attention. They wait for the information to be posted and go through it line by line. And if they find something troubling, look out!

     So when they signed on as usual a few weeks back, and the screen read sorry sucker, (not in those words of course), they were incensed. Conspiracy theories began to boil!. What were they hiding? What happened to transparency?

     Enter Seiler.

     Seiler ran on a platform of transparency, open government, power to the people!

      The fouled up agenda information was a legitimate technical matter, no intrigue. The City had gone to a new format, and it was having problems. So Seiler needed a stop-gap.

     The Mayor put out the word that all the back-up materials for the upcoming agendas would be open for inspection, any time, in his office!   He had the Mayor’s staff call all the “watchdogs”  he could think of to tell them to come on in,  sit a spell, put your feet up!  And asked me to put out the word – Mayor’s office open to the public.

     Now that’s service  !

     A small group of Citizens really can make a difference!

     This Citizen led effort began nearly three years ago, in September 2006. They called it “Citizens for a Better Code”, but the City has now renamed the effort the snappy – “Neighborhood Development Criteria Revisions”!

     It started like this: A group of friends were e-mail complaining amongst themselves about the out of scale townhomes that were being built in many of the City’s neighborhoods. They questioned the City’s rules that allowed those townhouses and duplexes to be built nearly on top little single family homes.  

                                     
                                
                                                          rather imposing eh?

     They also wondered why the development Code was allowing things to get built that ended up looking like this –

                                   
     
     I challenged them to quit their bitching and go “do something about it”!

     I invited them into my home for an initial meeting and it grew from there. 

     The group was well balanced. It included neighborhood leaders that often preached slowing down re- development, like former City Commission candidate Charles Jordan, and activists Cal Deal and Ray Dettman, but also included local architects Michael Madfis and Gus Carbonelle.  Green activists Linda Brown and Vicki Eckels pushed enviromental issues, and I was there to keep the peace and keep the pace!

     The group looked at a myriad of other development issues too, like – 

                                 
                                 too many cars, not enough spaces!


        and …….

                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
                                 too many cans..not enough hiding places!                        

     The group met for about a month and came up with the document  “Citizens for a Better Code“. They went to the Council of Civic Associations and officially offered their proposal! The Council, under the capable leadership of it’s President, Genia Ellis, and their tireless Committees Chair, Richard Mancuso, moved it along to where it is today.

     Fort Lauderdale City Commission,  now it’s your turn!         
     

     



      

     Maybe some sanity is peeking through!

     On Sunday, May 10th (Mother’s Day), there will be a rather unique rally at the Flea Market on Oakland Park Boulevard from 1 to 4 p.m…

     It’s the Pull up Your Pants rally, sponsored by a group of mostly African American Grandparents, that are sick and tired of seeing their young men walking the streets flashing their undies.



         You know the look that has been all the rage. Pull your pants down as far as you can get them without them falling to your ankles. Some medical professional are even worried that it is beginning to make some youths bowlegged.


                                               
                                                 The fad is so endemic in the youth counter culture (moslty African American,but not exclusively) that the baggy pantsers even have an odd understanding. If they are in a street brawl, and pants start-a-falling, a “time-out” is called so the drooper can reinstall his drawers!

     


     
             But, as Dylan reflected years ago, times they are – a – changing! …. Some of the turn-around can be credited to ….


                            …… President Barack Obama, who last fall counseled the sagging britches youths, in an MTV interview, that the “brothers ought to pull up their pants”. 

     Maybe it’s catching on. Plantation High School recently had a “No Saggin Pants Day”, and their Principal handed out belts, donated by Wal-Mart,  to those in violations. They explained to the youth that the fad needed to go, that “UNDER” wear was called underwear for a reason.

     Next thing you know, face jewelry will go dinosaur !!
    

     Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Frank Adderley says he wants to listen to the citizenry.

                                                                    
                                                                     Chief Chats with Citizens


     Adderley is in the unenviable position of finding ways to fight rising crime in an austere budget year .  And he must do it with a Police force that has about  80 Officers short, on the street, from full staffing levels reached in 2003. Though the City Administration and the new City Commission has given the Chief a full green light to staff up, years of freezing positions, disgruntled Officers leaving for other agencies,  and a less than adequate recruiting effort has left the force diminished.

     So in an unprecedented move, the Police Chief has recently turned to the citizenry for advice.

     The Chief has empanelled a group of Citizens that call themselves “The Chief’s Roundtable”.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                   the “Roundtable” in action                                    

     
     This past Tuesday was the second meeting of the group. It consists mainly of representatives of areas in the City that have escalating crime problems,. Tuesday’s group included reps from the Beach, the City’s central neighborhoods, and the southern neighborhoods that surround Federal Highway.

     The session was lively, with lots of talk of bringing back “Community Policing”  to the City, finding ways to expedite hiring of new Police Officers, and looking at newer creative techniques that are working in other cities.

     Adderley says he finds these sessions helpful, and that he’s ready to “accept good ideas, no matter where they come from”.

     If you think you can be helpful also, send me an e-mail to Tim@TimSmith.com, as I’ve been helping the Chief identify residents that want to be involved………..