Why I support Levine-Cava's campaign fundraising transparency ordinance!

(the following is still a draft, and should be edited for accuracy and clarity)


I begin with the short and sweet of it.

County Commissioner Daniella Levine-Cava's proposed ordinance to increase campaign fundraising transparency is a step in the right direction. There is little burden in a simple disclosure in campaign finance reports accounting for when candidates and officials raise funds on behalf of political organizations. Any notion that politicians should spend their time raising money, but that it's a burden to do so in the light of public view calls in to question the purpose of  public service. What's more, I question the integrity of any politician who opposes this legislation because they think it would burden them. Here's looking at Barbara Jordan, and others on the commission.

I previously criticized the proposal in hopes that it could promote public discourse about what transparency really means in our times, but unfortunately none of the county commissioners I reached out to took my words to heart, and instead hide behind ennui. Laziness. In that regards I will clarify my criticisms so that people understand I do not oppose this ordinance, as I find nothing egregious about it.

While I still hope for more discussion on the topic, I don't see a need to continue criticizing this particular effort, as my criticisms receive no actual conscious attention. I prefer a move in the right direction, than to stifle progress over knit-picking. I still think find critique valid and important to the over-all issue of transparency in government, but future ordinances can address this--the proposal in no way limits possible increases of transparency in the future, which is precisely what establishment fears. Don't buy the disingenuous suggestion this ordinance would burden politicians. Even if it does, they accept that burden as servants of the public. They serve special interests, or their own, when they oppose transparency.

Reaching out to better understand the future of campaign finance.

Only time will tell if the proposed ordinance has actual positive effect on electioneering in Miami-Dade County. While I appreciate the responsiveness of the commissioner's COO, I wait for the final language to personally conclude on the issue.

It began with a letter I wrote regarding campaign finance reform and ended with a promise from the Levine-Cava's COO Adele Valencia promising to address some of my concerns.

Bitcoin self-satisfied headlines

In an embarrassing use of public resources Miami-Dade County Police entrap a naive entrepreneur in a complex legal bait-and-switch which indentures him to police for an unreported time-period. Local channel 7 shares deceptively edited police video showing an undercover officer explaining to Pascal Reid his expectation to purchase tens of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin. Another cut from the video shows the two men at a computer, when the front door flies open and another officer rushes in with a gun pointing directly at the unarmed, but now shocked Pascal. The reporters fail to substantiate their claim that the undercover officer described an identity theft scheme with Pascal, and elicited his help with laundering money acquired from the scheme.
This has link bait all over it, with our corrupt Katherine Fernandez Rundle claiming it's the first arrest of it's kind. It's certainly not the first instance of someone in South Florida acting as an "Unauthorized Money Transmitter, " simply the first time the State Attorney bothered to prosecute anyone for it, and it was a sting operation, not even an actual instance of organic criminal behavior.

One wonders how much actual unauthorized money transmission goes on which has not been prosecuted.

Why I called Javier Ortiz absurd, and other comments for local 880am's The Gray Zone

Awake and with little to do this morning I noticed on twitter that Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava would be speaking on a local business/politics/talk radio station 880am The Biz's weekday morning program The Gray Zone. She didn't specify what she'd talk about, but as an upstart who deposed a well-connected incumbent I have interest in what she says.

Surfside to North Miami Beach swap?

The Dezerland Hotel (and other titles at times) sold for $65M according ot exMiami on December 18th while five days later on the 23rd  they report that Dezer has acquired and plans to build "600 Units At Intracoastal Mall In North Miami Beach," the purchase of which cost some LLC of his $63.5M. Seems like a reasonable pivot considering how next to nothing has been done with the throw-back hotel property, but Dezer has big plans for the Intracoastal, including a luxury dinner movie theater.

Seems like a big step up. Just a stones throw away, the Intracoastal mall economically driven by budget brands like "Old Navy" and "Winn-Dixie" will be getting a Sunny Isles facelift to match some of its potential.

Mall Expansion Update 5.13

After a long period of inactivity I decided this morning to look for something new regarding the Aventura Mall expansion proposal. Rumors of a food court rennovated initially interested me due to its adgacency with the mall's only Miami-Dade Transit bus stop. Confirmation came months after the initial rumor via Miami Today article breaking the expansion. (I just spend 15 minutes trying to guess how Miami Today came out with the story. Maybe they read monthly agendas?)
With new scope to the matter further research became necessary to understand the fate of the mall bus stop. Miami-Dade Transit had nothing to say on the matter, instead claiming total ignorance, however what makes the situation so interesting is that the ordinance change the mall requires to expand their lot coverage to 44% (current max 40%) necessitates the very transit facility which serves as footnote in most articles on the story. Certainly a millions dollars expansion is a big deal, but in Miami those go for a dime a dozen. The guts of the story involve Aventura Mall Ventures possible manipulating city ordinances meant to maintain benefit the public.
From the proposal to the city:

The request is a policy decision as to whether the continued low height of the mall building and the construction of a centralized multi-modal transit facility on the ground
floor of a new parking structure is a benefit to the community that warrants the
requested increase in lot coverage.

(Strange formatting mine)
How can Aventura Mall Ventures possibly meet a standard warranting the "requested increase" if they are not even in communication with local transit authorities?
That line of thinking raises all sorts of questions as to whether Aventura Mall is a Community Business, as is the designation they have. What kind of community does Aventura Mall cultivate and perpetuate?

I won't address most of the questions any time soon. At this time I focus on mall expansion and what's to become of the bus stop. While the potential for a well designed transit facility excites me, the reality of transit facilities in this area paint a depressing likelihood.
More to come?
Hopefully soon. No one else has written about it since, it seems!

The Strange Death of Alexandre Nicolas

On Saturday, January 25, 2014 Sunny Isles Police pulled 20 year old Alexandre Nicolas over in a stop that resulted in his death. According to the Miami Herald, via police statement, the young Nicolas fled police custody, while in handcuffs, and attempted an escape in a nearby canal. He drowned in that canal.

The Herald Article claims the detainment resulted from some kind of police scanner alerting Sunny Isles Police of a stolen vehicle. An article in WSVN posted one week after the incident, reporting on a memorial held for Nicolas, states his family retained a lawyer to inquire in to the incident. (that article was most recently updated in March)

Aside from these two articles I am unable to find any other original content about the incident.  Vagueness plagues these two reports. Different circumstances elicit less interest, but this tale of a popular and friendly man dying understand strange circumstances raises both eyebrows.
One line from the Herald report stands out particularly for it contradicting or not fitting in with the over-all narrative promulgated by police and the media:

After Nicolas pulled over in the parking lot of Area Code 55 at 16375 Biscayne Blvd., police subsequently identified the vehicle as being stolen from Miami Beach. At that point, Nicolas was ordered out of the car and handcuffed. He ran and drowned.

Notice how in this version of things the stolen car doesn't come up until after Nicolas is stopped over a mile away from Sunny Isles.

Further details may render this a mundane situation, really, but until then questions remain. I have E-mailed the Sunny Isles Clerk with some of these questions in hopes of at least clarifying the situation, and publishing this clarification here so that perhaps the last internet word about Alexandre Nicolas includes more than mild speculation and non-binding police statements.

• What kind of scan/inquiry alerted police to the stolen car? Did police respond to an automated alert technique, or a manually initiated search result?
• Why wasn't Nicolas pulled over sooner? reports indicate he stopped more than a mile away from Sunny Isles. The westward stretch of 163 street from Sunny Isles to Biscayne Blvd boasts more than enough parking lot space for a police stop.
• Was the vehicle/license plate in question actually stolen? Note that media reports do not claim the vehicle or the platers were stolen, but only that the plate was identified as stolen. There can be a difference.
• Was Alexandre Nicolas alone? Were there any witnesses?
• What exactly happened? At what time did Nicolas jump in to the canal? Did anyone attempt to go in after him? At what time? How long did he spend in/under the water before removal?

Perhaps other important questions do not appear above. If you have questions or information which could clarify the situation feel free to contact me.