100foot of south side of #1HeraldPlaza comes down # MiamiHerald #newspaper pic.twitter.com/YmFXCMxcAh
— walter michot (@WalterMichot) April 28, 2014
Old Miami Herald Building goes down, Photo via Walter Michot on Twitter.
Archive for: ‘April 2014’
Old Miami Herald Building goes down
Limited A Route returns to the Venetian Causeway
A limited version of the A Route has resumed operation over the Venetian Causeway.
Weight restrictions on the dilapidated bridge caused the service to be halted temporarily, and the new route will only work for a set amount of hours during the morning and the afternoon.
The modified bus route will now run between the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover Station and West Avenue- 20Th Street in Miami Beach, a bit shorter than the original route which stretched all the way to Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue. The buses will operate in the mornings from 7 a.m. To 9:30 a.m., and return from 2 p.m. until approximately 6:50 in the afternoon.
The most effected were those who work on the islands and rely on public transportation. Route A is the only route to service that area. The SOBE Local route only enters the first island on the eastern end.
The A buses have had some issues as of late crossing the Venetian, most famously one opened up a hole on the western most part of the bridge. According to a county memo, in March that bus was delayed because of “contact with a localized bridge deck failure.” Emergency repairs were made, metal slabs over the bridge, and the causeway opened up for traffic. Nearly a month to the date, bus service was cut off because of their weight, even as the A route uses a smaller model than the rest of the county fleet.
The county had a short term fix for the bridge that would extend the life of the bridge by two years: pour concrete on the metal slabs with $700,000.00 price tag.
Recently the county has indicated that they will go with a more long-term solution of replacing the effected segment of the bridge. This procedure will close the Venetian Causeway anywhere from half a year to nine months.
The estimate cost will be $9 million dollars, and according to county memos will extend the life of the bridge by 60 years.
-Frank Maradiaga
Miami Beach scores 100 in Municipal Equality Index
By Frank Maradiaga
Miami Beach scored a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. The city’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Business Enhancement Committee will announce the score at an afternoon reception at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens Thursday.
The index rated the nation’s 50 state capitals, the 150 largest cities, and other regions based on how inclusive city laws and policies were towards the LGBT community. The MEI was not meant to rank how welcoming a particular city felt to LGBT people, but an examination of city services.
In the 2013 HRC report, the average MEI score was 57, decidedly putting Miami Beach above the average.
Of the 15 Florida cities ranked last year, Miami Beach was not originally not included in the 2013 HRC report.
According to the Herald’s Steve Rothaus, the HRC had kept MB off the list because it didn’t meet certain judging criteria.
GLBT Business Enhancement Committee then started the process of submitting a score card themselves on behalf of the city. The results will be officially announced just before the kick off of Pride Week.
Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales boasted about the score in a letter to the commission: “This score establishes that our City is a model of progressive politics and can be held up
as the standard for other cities around the state and country”
Local cities also rated included Miami (67), Hialeah (58), Miami Shores (56), Fort Lauderdale (77), and Wilton Manors (82).
“The City’s score also lets gay, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people from all over the world know that Miami Beach is still the best place for them to live, work, and play,” said Morales.
Bay Harbor Island Seats stay with incumbents
Updated By Frank Maradiaga
Voters in Bay Harbor Islands decided to keep the current council intact.
In a three man race for two seats, Vice-Mayor Jordan W. Leonard was reelected to a four year term, and Councilman Joshua Fuller was allowed to finish off a two-year term left open by the resignation of a
former councilman.
The two top candidates received nearly the exact amount of votes, with Leonard receiving 411, and Fuller 404. Paul Ruthfield came in third with 223. Each vote was an important factor in this election as the candidate who received the most won the full four year term, and the second most won the two year term.
According to the Miami Herald, both Leonard and Fuller were campaigning together.
That practice has become common in Bay Harbor Islands where multiple open seats go to those who muster up the most support.
In 2012 Francisco J. Temprano and Solange Rousselot campaigned together for two open seats left vacant by retiring council members.
Both Temprano and Rousselot beat their only other challenger, David L. Friedeberg, by gathering a nearly identical amount of votes.
The two-year term up for grabs in this election cycle belonged to Temprano, who recently moved out of town.
This victory secures Leonard’s second full term. He was originally appointed to the dais after the sudden death of a council member. In 2010 he was elected to his first term after a bruising election cycle against a candidate who had hired the consulting services of the so-called “Prince of Darkness,” Randall Hilliard.
Fuller is an attorney who was active with town matters before being appointed to fill in for Temprano. He has worked with the Charter Committee, as well as offering the town council his services pro bono. In one instance he offered to negotiate a contract with a vendor who was pedaling a money borrowing service for town employees. The crux of matter centered around the town’s implied liability in the wording of the agreement.
Of the town’s 3,001 registered voters, only about 21% turned out to cast 628 ballots.
