While many of you are making your summer vacation plans, I’m sure the last thing on your minds is the trial of Ricardo Brutus, the nephew/campaign manager of North Miami’s infamous former Mayor, Andre Pierre.  Even though Brutus is represented by Not-Ben Kuehne, a/k/a Larry Handfield, the trial hearing, originally set on March 31, 2014 for May 27, 2014, is (yep, you guessed it) not gonna happen.

According to the docket, just this morning the Plaintiff’s Motion for Continuance was granted.  A “report re plea/sounding” is scheduled to be heard on August 27, 2014, and a trial hearing has been reset for September 8, 2014.

Likewise, the CRIMINAL trial of North Miami Beach EX-Mayor/FELONY defendant Myron Rosner will also be on hiatus until September.

I suppose that even alleged criminals, who are charged with unlawful compensation (in or out of official capacity), organized fraud, campaign finance fraud, grand theft in the third degree, and even impersonating a lawyer, deserve a summer vacation.

North Miami’s Interim City Manager Aleem Ghany will be spending his summer vacation studying “the possibility of reducing speed limits in residential areas.”  Tuesday night’s council vote was unanimous, according to a Miami Herald article just published, even though Mayor Lucie Tondreau was hesitant to approve of the study, which is estimated to cost between $50,000.00 and $75,000.00.  She believes that North Miami is too large a city to mess with its speed limits.

The Mayor told the Herald, “We’re not a village,” perhaps referring to North Miami’s diminutive next door neighbor, Biscayne Park.  “We’re a city of 75,000,” she said.

The Mayor did not say, “I LMAO at your stupid ‘Don’t Even Think About Speeding’ signs,” even though I would have said that.  Just for fun.

Tondreau finally consented when Vice Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime generously granted the funding for the study from his “allocated $1.5 million” for his Streets & Sidewalks Project, which he successfully wrestled from the City last year.

Tweeting hashtag for Aleem: #NoSummerVacay4U

While speed limits were being studied by City Hall, the North Miami Police Department was more concerned with catching bank robbers than mere run of the mill speed demons.

Channel 10 just reported that the Bank of America located at 13450 West Dixie Highway was almost robbed today.  “The FBI says the man entered the bank Thursday morning, and demanded money from a bank employee. He also claimed he had an explosive device on him … No money was taken.”

The case was turned over to the FBI so that North Miami Police Officers can go back to chasing speeders into Biscayne Park.

Speaking of the Village, Florida Power and Light will also be busy this summer installing “22 new all-concrete poles” in Biscayne Park after the Village Commission voted 4-1, with Vice Mayor Barbara Watts dissenting.  As usual.

At issue was whether the aesthetics of the concrete poles would increase or decrease property values.  Commissioner Fred Jonas (yes, THAT Fred Jonas) quoted an “expert in this kind of matter,” i.e. a Realtor, who claims property values would go up.  Watts, who “couldn’t disagree more,” made the head-scratching statement, “I think the way property values are assessed has nothing to do with the outside of the house.  We’re paying for the city of North Miami Police Department to be fortified.  We know they have a generator and could go a week or so without power.  I think it would be a grave mistake to just accept concrete all over the place.”  [Emphasis mine.]

Aside from her perplexing reference to “concrete all over the place,” I’m actually LOL at the mere thought of the North Miami Police Department’s “fortification” being at the mercy of the Village of Biscayne Park.

I could be mistaken, but I think I just heard Lucie laughing, too.

The Miami Herald article, Biscayne Park approves concrete electric poles, reported on the always riveting proceedings at the last Biscayne Park Commission meeting.

Instead of doing a speed limit study, which is not necessary since the Village already has the lowest legal (and humanly possible) speed limit in Florida, FPL did a light pole study.

No mention was made how much that cost.

North Miami Councilman Philippe Bien-Aime will not be donating to the fund.

Oh, and the Commission is holding a special meeting on May 21, 2014 to vote on final approval of Waste Pro taking over its sanitation department.

Tickets will go on sale tomorrow.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”