Brace yourselves, people. I hope you’re sitting down. I have shocking news:
North Miami is not the center of the universe.
If you’re hyperventilating at the mere thought of having to tear yourselves away from all the breaking news of the last two days about the arrest of the Mayor, breathe into a paper bag.
Better now?
On the bright side, thanks to the latest scandal from the city that really hasn’t slept in forty eight hours, this website broke not one, but two records in two days, in the number of hits it got in the nearly four years I’ve been writing these columns. Not even the arrest of North Miami Beach EX-Mayor Myron Rosner caused this much of a stir, which can only mean one thing:
Myron, you’re not that freaking important!
I have to thank Channel 10 for a good portion of the traffic, which posted a link to my website in an article published on Monday when it broke the news that Mayor Tondreau was being charged with mortgage fraud. This link accounted for nearly two hundred of the more than 3,000 hits on Monday and Tuesday. Yeah!
And the hits just keep on coming. I (and a very happy Webmaster) owe a great big thank you to WPLG Local 10!
But this column is NOT about North Miami. In case any of you are still in need of a fix, there will be a press conference this morning City Hall. This presser will give reporters a recap of pretty much everything you’ve already heard so they can rush back to their respective newsrooms and prepare for the noon local broadcasts and report to you what you already know.
Yeah, the competition for those advertising dollars is stiff.
In the meantime, there is other news to report. Here’s a list of things you might not know if you didn’t already click on the Miami Herald’s website today and you just gotta know what’s on the front page:
- The Miami Heat won last night, tying the series and bringing it back to Miami for Game 3 on Saturday night.
- The 2018 Super Bowl will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- Last night the Miami-Dade County Commissioners sent David Beckham and his Major League Soccer Stadium packing.
- The Dolphins have been standing in line behind Beckham to ask the Commission to pay them to try to bring a Super Bowl to Miami. Good luck with that.
- The Marlins’ Jose Fernandez is still out for the 2014 season thanks to his Tommy John surgery.
- Which could explain the Marlins’ loss to the Phillies last night. But probably doesn’t.
The Miami Herald left a couple of square inches on its front page for non-sports related news, such as:
- Miami Dade College will not be getting the half penny sales tax it asked of the Florida Legislature.
- The incredibly shocking news that South Florida is deadly for pedestrians.
In Breaking News of the always heart-poundingly exciting Business Section (BREAKING NEWS! Really!) of the Miami Herald, out of Washington state came a story that had me shaking my head.
The article, No irrigation water for marijuana crops, feds rule, began with, “Delivering a blow to pot growers in Washington state and Colorado, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said Tuesday that it won’t allow any federally controlled water to be used on marijuana crops because Congress has banned the drug.”
For the record, I have no pony in this race since I don’t smoke pot. I wouldn’t smoke it whether it was legal or not. I’ll take reality over drugs any time, so that’s not my issue.
What got my attention is that there is “federally controlled water” in the first place.
Even more astounding is that in Washington state, an agency of the federal government – the U.S. Department of Reclamation, “controls the water supply for two-thirds of the state’s irrigated land.”
I’m sure I’m missing something, but for the life of me I don’t get why the federal government controls the water supply in any sovereign state.
Even on the west coast.
Even more head scratching is that the ruling by the federal agency will “apply to all of its locations in the 17 Western states it serves, including states that have decriminalized or authorized the cultivation of marijuana,” but “the Justice Department said in August that it wouldn’t block their plans to tax and sell the drug.”
I’m not sure how something that can’t be grown can be taxed and sold.
Then again, this is the federal government we’re talking about.
Proving once and for all that if there’s anything at all that the federal government can screw up, it will.
Which also might explain why Nancy Pelosi still has a job.
Now that you know there’s life outside North Miami, you can get on with your day.
Make it count.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
The next problem will be that it will take years for the trial of Lucy will take place. She has the master of delays for a lawyer.
Wrong moves being made on, yet, another stadium deal. The port site was(is) interesting, boat slip wrong on many levels. Is watson island next on the list?
The public should get more involved…even at this stage.
The City of North Miami NEEDS an independent forensic financial audit of every department for the last 5 years!
Just saw Lucy’s replacement on TV and almost fell out of my chair. The guy can barely speak English and here he is entrusted with the affairs of a major city. There is no hope for this place. Shut the lights and head north.
Bien-Ami has been a good solid council member. I don’t think calling into question whether someone can speak English well really elevates the conversation or sounds very intelligent, actually, on your end, regardless of how good or bad (pun intended grammatically) you can speakish english. Let’s try to be nice and move forward. Come to a council meeting then decide.
You went from arguing a point to the gutter in three short lines. Communicating properly in government is essential in order to express ideas and to debate policies that determine how our tax dollars are spent. Sadly enough, your ilk is more concerned about political correctness than political behavior or lack thereof. Take that “pun” and well… you get the picture.
Im an east side voting Jew – my ilk? so I guess you are anti-semite? or anti- educated white business people?- who just thinks he’s not a bad guy and had stood up for some really important issues like getting toxic soil out of biscayne landing etc…. I normally would not respond to such negativity but trying to show positivity – and suggest you look beyond an accent, etc – and lets move forward.
How does one determine a person’s ethnicity by simply looking at the moniker Really Now? Please, stop injecting divisiveness. My observation was simply based on the fact I could not understand the man. From one educated white business man to another, just let it go.
And he is the interim mayor – the way the statues and charter require. Come out to meeting and get involved if you are concerned about leadership for the next two months. And there’s really not much for him to do – FYI – beyond the council right now – its kind of lucky it is summer time – and the manager runs the city. That’s all I have to say on the matter. Please check your assumptions so we all can work together for a better city.
Congrats on all of the hits! Your blog is the best!