Saturday, August 23, 2008
Nero fiddles while Rome burns
When the City Manager spoke in the past about the pain to be endured by the recession he was obviously talking about the PEOPLE having those pains. The people are suffering greatly, losing their jobs, sometimes their houses, and having to resort to garage sales to keep the lights on. City administrators, Department heads, and the City Manager have NOT suffered in the least, as far as I can see. They havent even taken any pay CUTS, much less lost their jobs! City administrators have cut 162k from the upcoming budget and ADDED 3.5 MILLION in debt for the people to pay off. In addition they want to ADD two new positions, one in Finance and a new Rec Director, that would add about 150k to the city payroll, cancelling out the 162k savings. Why is it that ONLY the residents are suffering from this recession and the Council's ridiculous, costly, and unaffordable new gym project? The Council's answer is to allow thre more garage sales. Big deal, while NONE of the City officials are even taking a pay cut!! They should be sharing the pain with us! Pain is losing your job, your house. City officials havent even been INCONVENIENCED yet. Their well-paid lives go on as usual- the residents do the suffering and pay the price, with little to no apparent concern from city officials.
Friday, August 22, 2008
water conservation is the key
South Fla residents are among THE most wasteful in the state, using 179 gallons of water daily. Miami-Dade residents use 159.9 gallons per day. In comparison, Atlanta, another drought-stricken metropolis, uses 120 gallons per capita.
Sarasota County used water conservation techniques to lower their water consumption form 140 gallons per day to 90 gallons per day, per capita. The government there mandated water conservation using water-saving landscaping and conservation-pricing of its water resources. If every one of the 18 million residents of Fla could realize such a savings there would be nearly a billion gallons of water available every day that wasn't there before.
Other water conservation practices available today include retrofitting old toilets, which can save 29 gallons per day, low-flow shower heads, recycled water, and rain barrels.
In Seattle total water use has held steady since 1975, while the population has grown 30%, by using water conservation methods.
In Miami-Dade, leaky pipes alone cause a loss of ten million gallons per day.
Not one of the 51 ways to conserve water, that was prepared by a statewide task force in 2002, has been made into laws, with tough enforcement.
Miami Herald, Jan. 6, 2008, page 2L
Sarasota County used water conservation techniques to lower their water consumption form 140 gallons per day to 90 gallons per day, per capita. The government there mandated water conservation using water-saving landscaping and conservation-pricing of its water resources. If every one of the 18 million residents of Fla could realize such a savings there would be nearly a billion gallons of water available every day that wasn't there before.
Other water conservation practices available today include retrofitting old toilets, which can save 29 gallons per day, low-flow shower heads, recycled water, and rain barrels.
In Seattle total water use has held steady since 1975, while the population has grown 30%, by using water conservation methods.
In Miami-Dade, leaky pipes alone cause a loss of ten million gallons per day.
Not one of the 51 ways to conserve water, that was prepared by a statewide task force in 2002, has been made into laws, with tough enforcement.
Miami Herald, Jan. 6, 2008, page 2L
to be paid for NOT working?
The City of MS was paid 440k a year to administer Water and Sewer. In two weeks there will be NO Water and Sewer Department to administer. Shouldnt the City Manager and the Dept head invoved take a BIG pay cut now? After all, whatever they were administering is no longer there! It stands to reason that they shouldnt get the same pay for NOT administering as they did FOR administering, does it? Less responsibility=less pay, right?
Water marketing
A family of 3, who rely on bottled water exclusively will, by the time their first child is 18, have already spent the equivalent of that child's college education in a public university on bottled water.
Nestle, the maker of Zephyr Hills water, gets its water from "underground sources in economically depressed communities". Forty percent of all bottled water comes from a tax-supported municipal water supply. Coke owns Dasani, which gets its water from Broward County aquifers and bottles it at Pembroke Road in Hollywood. The average bulk cost of public water is 1-2 cents a gallon. Publix charges $1.50 for a 12-ounce bottle, tax included- or $10-20 a gallon, about 500 to 1,000 times the usual price. Coke does put it thru a secondary reverse osmosis procedure that can remove any minerals present, and as such, sells it as "purified" water.
Ralph Terrero, assisitant director of Miami-dade water and Sewer, says "all they do is put it thru a carbon filter and bottle it".
Miami's drinking water, like much of Hollywood's, is obtained from the Biscayne Acquifer, a porous limestone formation located just below the surface. The water that slowly seeps thru the limestone nooks and crannies becomes the ground water that provides county residents with approximately 347 million gallons of drinkable water every day. As it slowly flows at a rate of about 2 feet per day it picks up minerals and other unsavory elements from storm water runoff, underground storage tanks, and waste disposal sites.
That is why public water runs thru numerous tests before its released. "We do about 15,000 tests a year", says Terrero. "The water exceeds the state and federal drinking water requirements", he is quick to add, and has the documentation to back up those claims.
Each of Miami's two water pumping stations pumps the water from the wells, softens it thru the lime process, filters, disinfects it, and then sends it thru 7,000 miles of pipes to our sinks.
NBC-6 did a blind taste test in 2003 with Dasani, Zepherhills, and tap water. One out of three participants could tell a difference.
The same odds as a guess.
Last year Americans disposed of 22 billion plastic water bottles, at least 85% of which wound up in landfills. Its probably more in Miami because its recycling programs are pretty lame. That is 70 million bottles a day at a cost of near 11 billion.
The City of Miami doesn't disagree with that lame assessment but says that in the future "at all city-hosted events recycling bins will be provided, including the Coconut Grove festival, for the first time", and is starting to recycle in some of its buildings.
Bottled water in restaurants is a high-profit item, selling a $1.50 bottle of water for $5-15 each in upscale establishments.
Ultraviolet radiation is increasingly popular as a replacement for chlorine as a primary water disinfectant, and believed to be especially effective against e coli and coliform bacteria. Maimi-Dade and Broward water do not go thru that process however, because it is expensive and somewhat controversial. Acquafina does use UV technology, altho Dasani does not.
Pepsi touts its Acquafina as a GREEN product, claiming that a partnership has converted "recycled Acquafina bottle into 100,000 fleec lined jackets for needy kids". To be fair, Coke contributes to some 70 public water projects around the world in 40 countries, is constructing the worlds largest plastic bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and bought 142 hybrid delivery trucks, 20 of which debuted in Miami last month.
Acquafina now has a label that says "public water source' on it, although the water bottlers maintain that people already know where it comes from. Some probably do know that, but its probably about the same percentage that know that Evian is naive spelled backward.
New Times, August 14, 2008.
Nestle, the maker of Zephyr Hills water, gets its water from "underground sources in economically depressed communities". Forty percent of all bottled water comes from a tax-supported municipal water supply. Coke owns Dasani, which gets its water from Broward County aquifers and bottles it at Pembroke Road in Hollywood. The average bulk cost of public water is 1-2 cents a gallon. Publix charges $1.50 for a 12-ounce bottle, tax included- or $10-20 a gallon, about 500 to 1,000 times the usual price. Coke does put it thru a secondary reverse osmosis procedure that can remove any minerals present, and as such, sells it as "purified" water.
Ralph Terrero, assisitant director of Miami-dade water and Sewer, says "all they do is put it thru a carbon filter and bottle it".
Miami's drinking water, like much of Hollywood's, is obtained from the Biscayne Acquifer, a porous limestone formation located just below the surface. The water that slowly seeps thru the limestone nooks and crannies becomes the ground water that provides county residents with approximately 347 million gallons of drinkable water every day. As it slowly flows at a rate of about 2 feet per day it picks up minerals and other unsavory elements from storm water runoff, underground storage tanks, and waste disposal sites.
That is why public water runs thru numerous tests before its released. "We do about 15,000 tests a year", says Terrero. "The water exceeds the state and federal drinking water requirements", he is quick to add, and has the documentation to back up those claims.
Each of Miami's two water pumping stations pumps the water from the wells, softens it thru the lime process, filters, disinfects it, and then sends it thru 7,000 miles of pipes to our sinks.
NBC-6 did a blind taste test in 2003 with Dasani, Zepherhills, and tap water. One out of three participants could tell a difference.
The same odds as a guess.
Last year Americans disposed of 22 billion plastic water bottles, at least 85% of which wound up in landfills. Its probably more in Miami because its recycling programs are pretty lame. That is 70 million bottles a day at a cost of near 11 billion.
The City of Miami doesn't disagree with that lame assessment but says that in the future "at all city-hosted events recycling bins will be provided, including the Coconut Grove festival, for the first time", and is starting to recycle in some of its buildings.
Bottled water in restaurants is a high-profit item, selling a $1.50 bottle of water for $5-15 each in upscale establishments.
Ultraviolet radiation is increasingly popular as a replacement for chlorine as a primary water disinfectant, and believed to be especially effective against e coli and coliform bacteria. Maimi-Dade and Broward water do not go thru that process however, because it is expensive and somewhat controversial. Acquafina does use UV technology, altho Dasani does not.
Pepsi touts its Acquafina as a GREEN product, claiming that a partnership has converted "recycled Acquafina bottle into 100,000 fleec lined jackets for needy kids". To be fair, Coke contributes to some 70 public water projects around the world in 40 countries, is constructing the worlds largest plastic bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and bought 142 hybrid delivery trucks, 20 of which debuted in Miami last month.
Acquafina now has a label that says "public water source' on it, although the water bottlers maintain that people already know where it comes from. Some probably do know that, but its probably about the same percentage that know that Evian is naive spelled backward.
New Times, August 14, 2008.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
the Best actor award goes to..
Reading is generally a good thing for most people but probably NOT for our Councilmen in the middle of a budget session. Those who tune in to the videotape of the Council meeting will see Councilman Garcia reading the Gazette while the debate continues; unprepared, uninvolved, and unconcerned who may see him leafing thru the pages in the middle of the debate. At the end of the day it may not matter that much tho, because he will rubber-stamp anything Gymbo tells him to anyway. He may not be the BEST one to pretend to be informed, OR even interested, but he is usually a better actor than THAT performance.
prostate [roblems, part 2
A U.S. panel of experts last week said PSA screening for prostate cancer is not likely to benefit men over age 75 and is not recommended for them. The panel said more evidence is needed to determine whether younger men benefit from early detection of this usually slow-developing form of cancer.
But researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston this week said men who had been screened for a longer period of time using PSA tests were less likely to have more serious features of prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis.
Holmberg said the watchful waiting approach assessed in the study may be outdated, with "active surveillance" now favored by some as an alternative to aggressive surgical treatment. With active surveillance, doctors more closely monitor a patient's condition in deciding if treatment is merited.
With PSA screening finding tumors so early on, Holmberg said it is possible "up to 50 or even 100" men would need to have surgery in order to avert one prostate cancer death.
Q & A Prostate cancer
• How many men die
from it?
• What causes it?
• What are the symptoms?
• Can it be prevented?
• How is it diagnosed?
• How is it treated?
An estimated 28,900 American men will die from prostate cancer in 2003. After lung cancer, it is the second most common cause of cancer mortality in U.S. men, accounting for 11 percent of cancer deaths. About 90 percent of men with prostate cancer survive at least five years after diagnosis, and two-thirds live 10 years or more. Early detection and treatment boost survival.
But researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston this week said men who had been screened for a longer period of time using PSA tests were less likely to have more serious features of prostate cancer at the time of diagnosis.
Holmberg said the watchful waiting approach assessed in the study may be outdated, with "active surveillance" now favored by some as an alternative to aggressive surgical treatment. With active surveillance, doctors more closely monitor a patient's condition in deciding if treatment is merited.
With PSA screening finding tumors so early on, Holmberg said it is possible "up to 50 or even 100" men would need to have surgery in order to avert one prostate cancer death.
Q & A Prostate cancer
• How many men die
from it?
• What causes it?
• What are the symptoms?
• Can it be prevented?
• How is it diagnosed?
• How is it treated?
An estimated 28,900 American men will die from prostate cancer in 2003. After lung cancer, it is the second most common cause of cancer mortality in U.S. men, accounting for 11 percent of cancer deaths. About 90 percent of men with prostate cancer survive at least five years after diagnosis, and two-thirds live 10 years or more. Early detection and treatment boost survival.
prostate studies
The study involved about 700 men from Sweden, Finland and Iceland diagnosed early prostate cancer while in their 60s on average.
Half were assigned a radical prostatectomy and half were given a passive "watchful waiting" approach in which they were not immediately given surgery. Later treatment depended on changes in their condition.
After tracking them for an average of about 11 years, 13.5 percent of men in the surgery group died from prostate cancer, compared to 19.5 percent of men in the watchful waiting group.
Dr. Lars Holmberg of the Kings College Medical School in London, who helped lead the research, said that in this study in order to avert one man's death from prostate cancer, about 20 men must undergo radical prostatectomy.
With an estimated 254,000 men dying from prostate cancer annually, it is the sixth leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide, according to the American Cancer Society.
Surgery and other types of treatment such as radiation or hormone therapy pose their own risks and side effects, including urinary, erectile dysfunction and other problems.
The Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group study was launched in 1989 with hopes of clarifying whether the best way to deal with prostate cancer is patience or aggressive treatment.
The researchers previously published findings after tracking the men for an average of eight years, also seeing a survival benefit for the men who got surgery.
"The gain in terms of prostate cancer mortality from radical prostatectomy still holds out 10 to 15 years after the operation," Holmberg, whose findings appear in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said in a telephone interview.
Because the study covered years when many men did not get regular prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test, Holmberg said the results do not directly address the question of the value of PSA screening.
Studies looking into whether PSA screening saves lives are still ongoing. Some experts note that such screening often can detect tumors that may never threaten the life of the man, and lead to surgery and other treatment that is not necessary.
Half were assigned a radical prostatectomy and half were given a passive "watchful waiting" approach in which they were not immediately given surgery. Later treatment depended on changes in their condition.
After tracking them for an average of about 11 years, 13.5 percent of men in the surgery group died from prostate cancer, compared to 19.5 percent of men in the watchful waiting group.
Dr. Lars Holmberg of the Kings College Medical School in London, who helped lead the research, said that in this study in order to avert one man's death from prostate cancer, about 20 men must undergo radical prostatectomy.
With an estimated 254,000 men dying from prostate cancer annually, it is the sixth leading cause of cancer death in men worldwide, according to the American Cancer Society.
Surgery and other types of treatment such as radiation or hormone therapy pose their own risks and side effects, including urinary, erectile dysfunction and other problems.
The Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group study was launched in 1989 with hopes of clarifying whether the best way to deal with prostate cancer is patience or aggressive treatment.
The researchers previously published findings after tracking the men for an average of eight years, also seeing a survival benefit for the men who got surgery.
"The gain in terms of prostate cancer mortality from radical prostatectomy still holds out 10 to 15 years after the operation," Holmberg, whose findings appear in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said in a telephone interview.
Because the study covered years when many men did not get regular prostate cancer screening using the prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood test, Holmberg said the results do not directly address the question of the value of PSA screening.
Studies looking into whether PSA screening saves lives are still ongoing. Some experts note that such screening often can detect tumors that may never threaten the life of the man, and lead to surgery and other treatment that is not necessary.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
riding along
While riding along with the cops and the garbage guys might be a decent idea to help a city official get a feel for that type of work and those issues, what are our liability issues on these ride-alongs, if somehow he gets injured in some way?
foreclosures set records
According to the RealtyTrac report, one in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.
Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but 10 states. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan had the highest statewide foreclosure rates.
Metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounted for nine of the top 10 areas with the highest rate of foreclosure. That list was led by Stockton, Calif. and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.
In Nevada, one in every 118 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate. In California, one in every 183 households faced foreclosure.
Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s vice president of marketing, said foreclosures are unlikely to peak until sometime this fall, as more loans made to borrowers with poor credit records reset at higher levels. “I don’t think we’ve seen the high point,” he said.
About 50 to 60 percent of borrowers who receive foreclosure filings are likely to lose their homes, Sharga said. The rest are likely to be able to sell or refinance.
More on this story
Mortgage rates at highest level in 8 months
Pending home sales moved higher in April
Lenders slash prices to dump foreclosed homes
As foreclosed properties pile up, they add to the inventory of homes on the market and drag down home prices. The trend is most dramatic in many parts of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where prices skyrocketed during the housing boom and are now falling precipitously.
Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January and March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas like Las Vegas, Detroit and distant suburbs of Los Angeles, according to Moody’s Economy.com.
In some neighborhoods, lenders are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars and multiple offers. While that’s a positive for the real estate market, buyers in other parts of the country are still holding back.
“I think a lot of people are waiting to see if we really have hit the bottom,” Sharga said.
Lehman Brothers economist Michelle Meyer said in a report Thursday that U.S. home sales are likely to hit bottom at the end of this summer, but said a recovery in sales is likely to be “feeble.”
Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but 10 states. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan had the highest statewide foreclosure rates.
Metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounted for nine of the top 10 areas with the highest rate of foreclosure. That list was led by Stockton, Calif. and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.
In Nevada, one in every 118 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate. In California, one in every 183 households faced foreclosure.
Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s vice president of marketing, said foreclosures are unlikely to peak until sometime this fall, as more loans made to borrowers with poor credit records reset at higher levels. “I don’t think we’ve seen the high point,” he said.
About 50 to 60 percent of borrowers who receive foreclosure filings are likely to lose their homes, Sharga said. The rest are likely to be able to sell or refinance.
Mortgage rates at highest level in 8 months
Pending home sales moved higher in April
Lenders slash prices to dump foreclosed homes
As foreclosed properties pile up, they add to the inventory of homes on the market and drag down home prices. The trend is most dramatic in many parts of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where prices skyrocketed during the housing boom and are now falling precipitously.
Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January and March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas like Las Vegas, Detroit and distant suburbs of Los Angeles, according to Moody’s Economy.com.
In some neighborhoods, lenders are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars and multiple offers. While that’s a positive for the real estate market, buyers in other parts of the country are still holding back.
“I think a lot of people are waiting to see if we really have hit the bottom,” Sharga said.
Lehman Brothers economist Michelle Meyer said in a report Thursday that U.S. home sales are likely to hit bottom at the end of this summer, but said a recovery in sales is likely to be “feeble.”
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Real estate trends In MS are down 20.9 % YOY
Real Estate Market Trends in Miami Springs
According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, home values in Miami Springs decreased 20.90% in the second quarter of 2008, compared to the second quarter of 2007. Nationally, home values have decreased 9.9% during this same period.
Home values have dropped almost 21 % in ONE year. If the home values have dropped that much how much do you think the taxes on those properties have dropped? 21% ?
That means the revenues from property taxes to the City are down the same amount. The City Council's answer to 21 % less revenues and a deficit for the whole year?
Add MILLIONS of dollars in new debt! We are projected to have at least a 1.5 million dollar deficit next year! They have already raided the Reserve Fund for 500k and will do it again and again until it is gone. Then they will raise our taxes to cover for their colossal stupidities. Adding MILLIONS more in debt for the residents to pay off when we cant even pay our bills NOW????
The USA is IN a recession. Times are tough and people are losing their jobs and their houses. Our City officials respond to this recession by taking on millions more in debt BUT giving us 3 more garage sales somehow evens it out??? Absurd. The couple hundred bucks that we may make on those garage sales may fill our gas tanks for a couple weeks or feed us, but probably not both. The crushing debts the Council has dropped on us will be a heavy burden for DECADES. The Council doesnt care, THAT much is clear. Their legacies are seemingly more important than the fiscal pain and suffering they are inflicting on us now, and for the next twenty years! We CANNOT allow that to happen!
According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, home values in Miami Springs decreased 20.90% in the second quarter of 2008, compared to the second quarter of 2007. Nationally, home values have decreased 9.9% during this same period.
Home values have dropped almost 21 % in ONE year. If the home values have dropped that much how much do you think the taxes on those properties have dropped? 21% ?
That means the revenues from property taxes to the City are down the same amount. The City Council's answer to 21 % less revenues and a deficit for the whole year?
Add MILLIONS of dollars in new debt! We are projected to have at least a 1.5 million dollar deficit next year! They have already raided the Reserve Fund for 500k and will do it again and again until it is gone. Then they will raise our taxes to cover for their colossal stupidities. Adding MILLIONS more in debt for the residents to pay off when we cant even pay our bills NOW????
The USA is IN a recession. Times are tough and people are losing their jobs and their houses. Our City officials respond to this recession by taking on millions more in debt BUT giving us 3 more garage sales somehow evens it out??? Absurd. The couple hundred bucks that we may make on those garage sales may fill our gas tanks for a couple weeks or feed us, but probably not both. The crushing debts the Council has dropped on us will be a heavy burden for DECADES. The Council doesnt care, THAT much is clear. Their legacies are seemingly more important than the fiscal pain and suffering they are inflicting on us now, and for the next twenty years! We CANNOT allow that to happen!
Monday, August 18, 2008
Rosetta@home
Every day 1500 Americans DIE from cancer. My Mother died of lung cancer. My college roommate died at 54 of throat cancer. My brother-in-law has prostate cancer now. Most of us are touched in one way or another by cancer. When I am sleeping I allow my Rosetta@home program to use my computer along with thousands of others to crunch the numbers in the search for a cure to cancer. It costs me little and could help a LOT!
tributes to themselves
Speaking in Open Forum is pretty much a waste of time and energy as The Council ignores the speakers and their requests like they never happened and the City Attorney says those requests for information or responses are not technically, Freedom of Information requests, and therefore they are not obligated to respond. It really doesnt matter because they really dont respond much to FOI requests either. Requests made over ten weeks ago have received little and no response. Excuses about how busy they are with the budget, etc are offerred, but not really acceptable under the law. There is ALWAYS an excuse to NOT fully hear or respond to the residents. They stopped listening LONG ago to the residents and are now only focused on making their own legacies happen, no matter what the cost to the residents. Its an pricy, painful, and pathetic tribute to their own oversized egos. They should be ashamed, or at least embarrassed, to sell out the majority of residents in tough, recessionary times to the few dozen who will benefit handsomely at the taxpayers expense.
electric cARS REDUX
Excellent article in this months WIRED magazine on the future of electric cars. An organization called Better Place figures that the typical American driver geta 20mpg and for 15,000 miles per year it cost $3,000 a year at $4 per gallon. He believes he can sell you enough clean wind and solar power to run your vehicles for $1050 a year. Shai Agassi is testing his cars now in Israel and Denmark. Denmarks largest utility DONG has signed a deal with Better Place as a way to rid themselves from its oil addiction, save its carbon e,issions, and use the car batteries to bank the power from their wind power farms. When the wind blows strong they have excess power that is now given away to Germany and Sweden.
The business model is similar to those of printers: give the printers away cheap and make the money on the refills. In this case discount the cars significantly and make your money back on the batteries and recharges. An onboard computer will track your mileage and calculate how much energy you will need, to get to work, for instance. At work you can plug your car in for recharging if necessary. The computer will tell you when the charge is low and when going longer disatances you could just switch out your battery for a fully-charged one at any service station.
The business model is similar to those of printers: give the printers away cheap and make the money on the refills. In this case discount the cars significantly and make your money back on the batteries and recharges. An onboard computer will track your mileage and calculate how much energy you will need, to get to work, for instance. At work you can plug your car in for recharging if necessary. The computer will tell you when the charge is low and when going longer disatances you could just switch out your battery for a fully-charged one at any service station.
numbers that dont make sense
Citizens must object
Dont most people object when money is taken from them? at least to the police? Why no audit so far? website cant be TOO transparent or the people will see whats really going on. What ARE they hiding? If the numbers were accurate and made sense they wouldnt have to hide them, would they? if, on the other hand, they demonstrated incompetency and inaccuracies it could, would, and should make the City Manager look bad, again.
Dont most people object when money is taken from them? at least to the police? Why no audit so far? website cant be TOO transparent or the people will see whats really going on. What ARE they hiding? If the numbers were accurate and made sense they wouldnt have to hide them, would they? if, on the other hand, they demonstrated incompetency and inaccuracies it could, would, and should make the City Manager look bad, again.
Citizens must object
Title: Citizens must object
The City of Miami Springs is projected to have a deficit next year of at least 1.5 MILLION dollars. You may wonder where will the City Council get the money to cover these debts? They will take it out of our Reserve Fund. They have already taken 500k out to help pay for the new gym project and our reserves are dangerously low. We are a bad hurricane or two from being insolvent, bankrupt.
Who is responsible for putting us in this precarious predicament? The City Manager and his $400-600+ a square foot construction fiascos deserves a LOT of the blame. With the exception of Councilman Dotson, who is making the good effort toward fiscal common sense, the rest of the Council should also shoulder considerable responsibility for not providing any significant oversight, accountability, or common sense on those projects and basically rubber-stamping whatever the City Manager says it costs.
How will they pay for their latest debacle? Once they have drained the Reserve Fund they will raise our taxes to cover their butts. At a time where residents are tightening their belts and struggling to put gas in their car, food on the table, and make their mortgage payments, the Council will raise our taxes to cover for the 3.5 million in additional debt for the new, and unnecessary, gym project.
It is yet another demonstration of the unbelievable ongoing lack of economic awareness, fiscal irresponsibility, and rational management by City officials with respect to each and every significant construction project in recent memory. Instead of tax relief or tightening their municipal belt buckles, the Council offers an ordinance that will give us more chances to sell off our possessions at garage sales, as if that will put food on our tables or gas in our cars for more than a couple weeks, or stave off foreclosures on some of our houses. THAT is all the Council has to offer to help us avoid personal bankruptcy.
Their idea to avoid municipal bankruptcy is to raise our debt by millions and increase our taxes. That is, of course, contrary to any known sound and credible economic theory and policy known to Man. They are so focused on their legacies that it doesnt faze them that they have no common sense or logical rationale to explain their actions. When you are in a hole the FIRST thing you do is stop digging. They stopped listening to the residents long ago.
They really aren't concerned with the plight of the residents because, as those HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars keep disappearing, they can, and will, just keep raising our taxes to cover it! To them (again, with one exception) we are a deep-pocketed and never-ending ATM that just keeps on giving and giving, no matter HOW horribly mismanaged and/or corrupt (take your pick) the City is.
Without voicing your objection, this ongoing and unacceptable pattern of incompetence, waste, and/or corruption (your choice) will simply continue until we are broke. Silence and apathy are as much the enemies of democracy as dictators. Stay tuned.
The City of Miami Springs is projected to have a deficit next year of at least 1.5 MILLION dollars. You may wonder where will the City Council get the money to cover these debts? They will take it out of our Reserve Fund. They have already taken 500k out to help pay for the new gym project and our reserves are dangerously low. We are a bad hurricane or two from being insolvent, bankrupt.
Who is responsible for putting us in this precarious predicament? The City Manager and his $400-600+ a square foot construction fiascos deserves a LOT of the blame. With the exception of Councilman Dotson, who is making the good effort toward fiscal common sense, the rest of the Council should also shoulder considerable responsibility for not providing any significant oversight, accountability, or common sense on those projects and basically rubber-stamping whatever the City Manager says it costs.
How will they pay for their latest debacle? Once they have drained the Reserve Fund they will raise our taxes to cover their butts. At a time where residents are tightening their belts and struggling to put gas in their car, food on the table, and make their mortgage payments, the Council will raise our taxes to cover for the 3.5 million in additional debt for the new, and unnecessary, gym project.
It is yet another demonstration of the unbelievable ongoing lack of economic awareness, fiscal irresponsibility, and rational management by City officials with respect to each and every significant construction project in recent memory. Instead of tax relief or tightening their municipal belt buckles, the Council offers an ordinance that will give us more chances to sell off our possessions at garage sales, as if that will put food on our tables or gas in our cars for more than a couple weeks, or stave off foreclosures on some of our houses. THAT is all the Council has to offer to help us avoid personal bankruptcy.
Their idea to avoid municipal bankruptcy is to raise our debt by millions and increase our taxes. That is, of course, contrary to any known sound and credible economic theory and policy known to Man. They are so focused on their legacies that it doesnt faze them that they have no common sense or logical rationale to explain their actions. When you are in a hole the FIRST thing you do is stop digging. They stopped listening to the residents long ago.
They really aren't concerned with the plight of the residents because, as those HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars keep disappearing, they can, and will, just keep raising our taxes to cover it! To them (again, with one exception) we are a deep-pocketed and never-ending ATM that just keeps on giving and giving, no matter HOW horribly mismanaged and/or corrupt (take your pick) the City is.
Without voicing your objection, this ongoing and unacceptable pattern of incompetence, waste, and/or corruption (your choice) will simply continue until we are broke. Silence and apathy are as much the enemies of democracy as dictators. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)