Fast Food Protest in Miami (Photos)
By Frank Maradiaga
Putting the Email out there
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Jeff Winger at The 2014 White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Around here we love Community. It’s the best show everyone’s not watching. Use #SaveGreendale and we might retweet you. (Especially this far removed from the airing of the finale.)
So what a treat it was to see Jeff Winger himself, or Joel Mchale to those who don’t live in an Abed-like-fantasy world, headlining the 2014 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The WHCD sees the President and the top dogs of the Mainstream Media dress up for a nerd prom. The night is capped by a comedic set from the president and a headlining comic. It’s a moment to celebrate how amazing it is to be able to question the head of the state, and NOT disappear into a Putin-esque leave of absence.
How DO you get HealthCare.GOV out of your carpet?
(more…)
Daniel J. Oates is the new Miami Beach Police Chief
The new-look Miami Beach Commission approved a new look for their police department on Wednesday.
Daniel J. Oates, the now former Chief in Aurora, Colorado, was instated by the commission to lead the Miami Beach Police Department.
City Manager Jimmy Morales concluded Oates was “the best person to meet the City of Miami Beach’s needs” after conducting a national search.
Oates has a long resume in law enforcement, including two decades with the NYPD, a top post in Michigan, and most recently in Aurora, Colorado. Aurora made unfortunate headlines recently with a mass shooting at a movie theater.
“I am absolutely humbled to have this opportunity in this great city,” said Oates after a unanimous vote of approval.
“I don’t have any easy or quick answers,” said the Chief, then swiftly added that it was probably that sense of humility and pragmatic thinking that ingratiated him to Morales.
He did promise two things: hard work, and mistakes. The latter being something he would learn from.
His resume is filled with accomplishments, but ‘grievous’ mistakes have happened during his watch. In 2013 his department prematurely destroyed evidence in 48 sexual assault cases.
According to the Denver Post, Oates called it a “grievous mistake” at a press conference. In one instance prosecutors had to abandon an imminent arrest because of the lost evidence, reported the newspaper.
Oates told the commission that he would reach out to them for guidance.
Aside from a yes vote, this new commission is a central reason his new position opened up.
Outgoing Chief Ray Martinez has stated that he felt politically pressured to abandon his post.
“I respect the movement in this city, and I have decided to step aside to provide the Mayor with the opportunity to select new leadership for this department,” said Martinez.
His Deputy Chief, Mark Overton, also jumped ship after the new commission was voted in. Landing the top position in neighboring Bal Harbor. Recently Long time City Hall fixture Jose Smith also left his position as city attorney to work for another municipality.
Both Martinez and Overton were brought in by previous administrations to help clean up the troubled department’s image. The department was reeling from a sloppy and deadly Memorial Day Weekend shooting, officers drinking and operating motor vehicles while on duty, and one of their own being arrested on racketeering charges to name a few.
Oates acknowledged at a press conference that the department could benefit from some “image work,” but also said it was a “sound organization.”
City surveys show that as of 2012, residents had a 66% approval rating for the MBPD. In a memo to the commission supporting the Oates hire, Morales said that approval rating had fallen from 2009 when it was at 85 percent. Those figures include years when Martinez was not at the top spot.
The commission is beaming with their new hire. All took a moment to praise Oates before the vote.
“Your qualification are impeccable,” said Commisioner Ed Tobin.
-Frank Maradiaga
Editor’s note: Post also Submitted to the Miami SunPost by the author
Old Miami Herald Building goes down
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.
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