fabricated figures

Let see.. we have a city Manager and his assisitant who 1) fabricate a connection with the Optimists that is not NOW happening, and never has happened, 2) fabricated annual pool revenues and told a resident they have NO idea how their numbers were derived,3) fabricated the numbers of Springs swimmers on MDAC, and 4) fabricated the pool revenues received from MDAC for the past three years. After all this has been brought out into the open, the Mayor and Council remain blissfully unaware and unconcerned! Its like, they KNOW hes lying NOW, they know he has lied to them in the past, and they KNOW he will lie to them in the future, but they just DONT CARE! After all, its NOT like its THEIR money going down the drain! If they dont get to the bottom of this, they should all go! This is just one other area of mismanagement and dishonesty run by the City Manager!

outrageous

So for MOST of December, January, February, March, and April we pay to heat the pool for the MDAC swim team, and a couple locals? Maybe the polo team, sometimes? We pay that 20k+ for a team that is overwhelmingly nonresidential and doesnt even pay the $200 a month rental pittance but occasionally? And the Asst City Manager and the City Manager allow this? What does the Mayor and the Council have to say about this? This is preposterous!

Mayor and Council snoozing

Gym said he gave away our pool for $200 a month because he was trying to help the team grow. That makes NO sense of course, because it didnt affect the rates charged to the swim team members at all. It DID increase the profits of MDAC by at least $1100 a month from what they had been paying at the junior college, that much is clear. And if they havent paid for but four months of pool rental in the past 36 months, as is indicated by a review, MDAC saved even MORE. There is nothing like free rental to instantly boost the profits ! Ask Mr Santana! Is there any way to find out what the MDAC membership has been for the past three years? Is the Mayor and Council going to allow this pool giveaway to continue? Are they going to look into the MDAC rosters and the missing pool rents, or just pretend it never happened? If not, WHY NOT? Are they going to look into the new program Gym is perhaps, maybe, and possibly only NOW putting into place to monitor and manage pool admissions? What does that "possible" program consist of? After over FORTY YEARS of having the pool, why wasnt it in place YEARS ago? THIS is good management? Of course that would entail them ACTUALLY fulfilling their responsibility to supervise and oversee the City Manager, something they apparently dont like to do since they havent really done it in YEARS, if ever ! The daily admission log review will be finished this week. Will the reviewer be surprised if the documentation of how many swim team members from which teams is missing again? Probably not. Everybody KNOWS the swim teams use our pool to practice, why act like they dont exist? What are they hiding? Any word on the make-believe Optimist connection? Billy?

Lets make a deal

Different things amuse different people, I guess. I find it amusing when Gorland says in public that LOTS of Springs kids are on the MDAC team, yet when confronted to give the actual numbers afterward in the hallway, he HAS no idea or numbers and exposes himself as the charlatan he is. POOF ! A paper tiger. It is also amusing when the City Manager fabricates an Optimist connection that isnt now, and never was. When THAT fraud is exposed he has NOTHING to say in his defense. NOTHING. The other frauds that have been perpetrated on the residents will be exposed in due time. The horrendous pool "management", and the term IS used loosely, would be amusing in its ineptitude and stupidity if it wasnt costing the Springs residents so much money. As it is, its just painful to watch our tax dollars be lost by the truckloads due to the incompetency, cluelessness, and/or corruption going on at City Hall. Gorland seems to have some kind of fixation/fear about the resident's academic accomplishments. It wouldnt seem to be THAT hard to check them out, would it? Have at it, Ron. Somehow he wants complete and total transparency from others, yet offers nothing even close from himself. Lets make a deal- you supply the verifiable MDAC rosters for the past three years and any cancelled checks and bank statements there may be regarding the pool rentals for MDAC for the past three years, and YOU will get verification of the academic credentials you want! Deal?

whats being hidden?

Chances are pretty good that the resident will show up to stop the fabrications, the miniscule rents that ARENT paid, and the highly questionable admission procedures at the pool, in addition to the handshake deals that arent authorized by Council AND the rates that are no where NEAR the rates Council set. He will be prepared with information that has been compiled by others, facts and figures, and will be open to discussion and other proposed numbers, as long as they have verifiable facts and figures to back them up. Its amazing how, TWO MONTHS LATER, we have NO roster from MDAC AND no documentation of them having paid the rent for 32 of the past 36 months!!! WHY would THAT happen, IF they werent hiding something? They have had multiple oppurtunities and ample time to comee forward with this information, yet STILL they resist and refuse. Why would they do this IF they werent hiding something? HONEST PEOPLE WITH NOTHING TO HIDE WOULD HAVE COME FORWARD LONG AGO. The MDAC kids, coaches, and parents are not responsible for this- management and owners of the MDAC swim team are!!!!

recycled coffee grounds

For those among us who have Green Thumbs: Starbucks has offered to provide anyone who wants their old coffee grounds for FREE to use for composting, flower gardens, plants, etc to just come in and ask for it. They have PLENTY of coffee grounds that can be recycled and used for the benefit of Mother Nature. Bring your own container. Call an hour ahead and they will save them for you. They are very cooperative and helpful.

pertinent facts missing

Thanks for the advice. Memo says they paid $1500 for each of the past two years. Curious to know how much they paid for the past 5 years? 10 years? Who would have the records for GMAC? Over a year ago pool management knew those schools were way behind, at least. When Gym says hes putting a program in place that may monitor and manage the pool use, revenues and expenses better in the future (memo), what does he mean? Is eliminating the details about the various swim teams and their usage part of that program? How would LESS information be a management benefit at all? Could it assist them in making their plans for staffing? chemicals? maintenance? Or is it an attempt to stifle pertinent facts from being revealed? MORE pertinent details are a mark of transparency and honesty in any business endeavor, especially in the case of the MDAC swim team. WHAT are the details of the plan he is talking about? So far, the details are NONE. ZERO. Trust, but verify, was Reagans plan, and it sounds like it might very easily work here. Install cameras or an automated admission machine. Without these verification devices, or other good ones, its truly hard to tell if accurate counts are being made and valid revenues recorded. This is but ONE of the many problems at the pool. Censoring factual information is yet another.

pool details missing

After six months of excellent detailed, itemized accounts of pool usage and numbers about which specific teams are there, in what numbers,on each day, all of the sudden it stops and goes back to the old methos like there are NO swim teams there and practicing! WHY would that happen? Wouldnt it be good to know how many team swimmers have used the pool for the past year when negotiating NEXT years handshake? or is it all really just unimportant because the for-profit, mostly nonresident team has NO intention of actually paying the pittance anyway, and the City Manager, Council, and Mayor have NO intention of insisting on it? Residents, however, will be expected to pay full price in their taxes AND additonally, in their admission fees if they actually decide to swim there! It APPEARS that the pool management is trying to hide something! WHAT could that be?

handshake agreements

What does the COUNCIL have to say about these "handshake" agreements? Were they aware of them? If so, why did they approve a $200 a month pool rental by the City Manager? Did they do ANY due diligence in this matter? If they didnt know, WHY didnt they know? Is it NOT their job to supervise and oversee the actions of the City Manager? Isnt this just ANOTHER case of their carte blanche approach to the City Manager and the operations of the city? Does the Mayor and Council generally agree that handshakes are an acceptable method of doing the business of the City of Miami Springs? If yes, how long have they felt like that? Why have they NOT been on record as favoring handshakes for city business in the past? How many handshake agreements does the city have? Does anybody know? If not, why not? Are there ANY other areas of City business that has handshakes as a basis for doing that business? When and where did the Council approve of handshakes as a basis for doing city business? Did the City Attorney approve of this method? What did the City Attorney have to say about this whole topic? so many questions; so few answers.

thinking positive

In the spirit of the holidays, I just read the kids comments in the Gazette. They are just adorable and so cute at that age. True Believers. One little girl asked Santa in her letter, "Do you love me, Santa?" OF COURSE SANTA LOVES HER !! Thats his job! Santa loves ALL kids! Touches the heart. It was also good to see the Jr Orange Bowl Sports Ability meet was held at the pool, and it was ably assisted by the FIU womens swim team and UM physical ed students. Gotta give credit where credit is due -same with blame.

phantom Optimist connection?

By all means, both the owners of the MDAC swim team AND the city officials SHOULD provide that information as a show of good faith! Whether they WILL, or not, remains to be seen. Is it possible both are not operating in good faith? Could it be that the $1100 pool rental break MDAC got when it switched to the pool from the jr college was split a couple ways, with different people? Until further evidence is presented to the contrary, it SURE looks like a possibility, at least, if not a probability. Neither are coming forward with simple information to put these concerns to rest. What kind of lesson would that be for a father to teach his son? What about honesty? integrity? transparency? good business principles? principles of ANY type? It really could make one wonder - if they cheat on their rent, what other things might they be cheating on? skimming or under-stating admissions numbers? heet sheets? concessions? It just LOOKS bad, for them, whether it IS truly bad or not! This really DOES need to be resolved. Just like the phantom Optimist connection- it needs some resolution, one way or another. Billy could straighten this out quickly. Why doesnt he do it! Is Billy hiding something? Billy KNOWS there is NO such connection, but says NOTHING. Is it possible that Billy DOESNT know? He has been an active Optimist for several years, I have heard. Wouldnt a relationship like this, IF it had ever existed, been discussed at one of the meeting? be written down somewhere, in the minutes? This situation is casting a cloud on the good name of the Optimists, as nobody from the Optimists has confirmed or denied the claimed relationship, including Billy. This just gets more and more curious, at the very least.

deception - yes

It is hard to put any blame for this fiasco on the kids, the coaches, or the parents. The board was perhaps deceived by the owners - told the payments were made, etc. You might think however that the board would ask to see the cancelled checks, etc. tho., to verify what is being said is true, just as a matter of good business practice. The owners of the swim team may have deceived the board like the City Manager deceived the residents, into believing things at the pool were being managed properly and all the rental bills paid. There is NO evidence of good management at the pool, and less evidence the tiny pool rentals that were supposed to have been billed and collected, actually were billed and collected. This all falls on the Asst City Manager and the City Manager. The buck stops there. Perhaps the Herald can get some answers that the residents havent been able to get.

simple solutions needed now

Is the MDAC board member suggesting that SOMEhow, for SOME reason, the City of MS stopped billing MDAC for the use of our pool for practices? That is the ONLY way they could say that they have paid for all monies requested, right? If the City of MS FORGOT to bill them for the past, oh, I dont know, TWO YEARS, then they could say that, I guess. Of course that raises the question as to WHO decided to stop billing and WHY? Is it POSSIBLE that the City could FORGET to bill? They DID forget to include water, plumbing, and electrical hookups for the bathrooms, right? So maybe they just FORGOT this little item too!!?? Whooooops!!! What is needed is a copy of all the bills sent to MDAC since they started practicing here, to go with the cancelled checks that they received from them as a result of those billings, right? That will simplify things greatly.

pool audit needed

This is addressing the pool parent and member of the MDAC board: if you are sure that all that has been asked for has been given, why dont you just let us see those cancelled checks so that we can have peace of mind and confidence in what you are saying is true. The City of MS has asked you for a small $200 a month fee to use our pool 3 hours a day, six days a week. We have reason to believe even that tiny pittance has NOT been paid for YEARS. We are asking you to be good neighbors and honest businessmen by making this information available. If all is as you say it is, cancelled checks, bank statements, and/or bank deposit slips should not be that difficult to retrieve. We need some assurances that we are getting at least the rents that the City Manager agreed upon. Since you paid $1300-1500 in pool rents per month at MD jr college a couple years ago, you can surely appreciate what a STEAL the use of our pool has been for the past 2 1/2 years, literally! We are asking you to do the right thing, and be honest, no more, and no less.

pool audit needed

The Council sets the rental fee schedule for all of the city facilties- swimming pool $60 an hour, gym $200 for 4 hours, pool $30 an hour for nonprofits, etc. When and where did the Council authorize the City Manager to charge whatever he wanted? Was the Council aware that we were only charging $200 a month for swim team practice, and hadnt collected THAT in years? If they didnt know that, WHY didnt they? They ARE supposed to supervise and oversee the City Manager, right? Did the Council know that there was poor documentation and few controls regarding admissions at the pool? The Asst. City Manager told Mr Dotson that there was NO way of knowing exactly what revenues were taken in at the pool! Why wasnt THAT a hint to them that something was fishy there? After over FORTY YEARS of having a pool, we have NO idea or system in place to tell us how much revenues we take in ???? Incredible! Ridiculous! The City Manager tells a resident he has NO idea how the lump sum revenue numbers listed in the budget were derived? NO DETAILS!?nothing itemized? Yet at the same meeting he pulls out a quarterly report that he says has ALL the details, and that he follows VERY closely! It seems he was saying that those details were ONLY for his eyes, because he didnt offer to share them with the resident or anybody else! It made NO sense- "I dont have those details", on one hand, and then pulls those very details out in a quarterly report and shows them briefly to the inquiring residents! Were the residents to believe what he SAID? or what he showed us? The details either exist, or they DONT! WHICH is it?

new interest

It would be interesting to know EXACTLY when city officials met, discussed, voted, and decided to give MDAC a pool rental of $200 a month! Is there ANY record of that happening? How would they come to that conclusion $200 a month is fair market value because they are on record as saying they have NO idea what other pools charge! Does ANYBODY believe that Gym doesnt know what other pools are charging? Thats his JOB to know those things, AND to get fair market value for our pool! Was the Council aware that this was happening? Does a swim team with 100 registered swimmers and several practice sites sound like a team that needs a handout? Is this just another sweetheart deal he has concocted, or something worse? The possibilities of kickbacks and skimming come to mind. Even that $200 a month pittance has apparently NOT been paid in YEARS! The responsibilty for this obvious mismanagement fiasco, at best, lies at the City Managers desk. At worst, the sweetheart deals, poor-to-nonexistent documentation and controls, outright fabrications, and rents NOT collected may very well be illegal. The Herald has become interested in this ongoing saga. Perhaps management will answer to them.

pool audit needed

While there was probably 25-30 people in the Council chamber less than a dozen spoke. It is not at ALL clear that ALL of them were supporting the swim team, as I know ten of them who were there, and they were present to see what was going to happen. The problem is not with the kids, obviously, as they are just the swimmers. The problem may not even be with the coaches, if they are not the owners of the swim team in question. SOMEBODY on the MDAC swim team has a roster of participating members for the past 3 years! Somebody also, probably the owners again, has a verifiable and documented list of pool payments made over the past three years. Those are the simple things requested to clear up this whole mess. The City Manager said he was going to request that information from MDAC. Did he do it? The longer MDAC refuses, the more the residents get suspicious that the rosters will show very few Springs kids and the pool payments will be few. If somebody doubts the number of pool rental payments, let them make their own review. A FOI is required to do that. They can compare their findings to the findings of the resident who has already done that review. Did the coach actually say that all the pool payments have been made? If so, then lets see the proof of that statement so we can verify it and move on. Again, TWO checks were found in the residents review: One was for $600 for Oct, Nov, Dec 2006. The other was for Feb 07 and for $200. The copies of those checks only showed the front and there was NO indication that they had been paid. Perhaps they were, but other verification is needed in the form of bank statements, bank deposit slips, etc.

honesty is the best policy

IF MDAC has nothing to hide, you would think they would just provide the do ents requested- a verifiable roster of Springs kids and 3 years of cancelled checks or bank statements showing payments were made- just to get this issue resolved, once and for all. That would seem to be pretty straightforward and relatively easy to do. Its when they refuse to do this simple thing that people become suspicious that those pieces of proof do NOT EXIST, meaning that Springs taxpayers have been footing the bill for them all along. A pool rental of $200 a month is a pittance of what its worth, as they know from paying seven times that sum to practice at the MD jr college a couple years ago. When did MDAC start using our pool for practices and meets? IF you are truly doing the right thing by the kids then do the right thing in this pool situation. You know what THAT is, so just do it. IF you are honest with the kids and their parents, and it seems you are, then be honest with the Springs residents. Honesty IS the best policy, no? and that IS what you are teaching those kids, right? Then lead by example, be honest, and do the right thing. Leadership starts at the top, most of the time.

issues

You are right when you say the resident has issues. He has issues when connections to the Optimist Club are fabricated; issues when a roster of Springs kids on a private swim team we subsidize isnt available for inspection; he also has issues pool practice rents that were claimed to have been paid to the city for the past three years do NOT stand up to any inspection (possibly 4 months paid out of the past 36). He has issues when the City Manager tells him that, as the City Manager, he has no way of knowing what the revenues and expenses that made up the lump sum figures that he claimed in the city's budget report, were(even tho he took out an itemized quarterly report right there, in his office). He has an issue when the City pays $400 a square foot for bathrooms that should only cost $125 a square foot! He has issues when the plumbing, electrical, and sewer hookups are FORGOTTEN for the bathrooms! How can THAT happen? one expensive fiasco after another! The list of issues goes on and on.

issues

You are right when you say the resident has issues. He has issues when connections to the Optimist Club are fabricated; issues when a roster of Springs kids on a private swim team we subsidize isnt available for inspection; he also has issues pool practice rents that were claimed to have been paid to the city for the past three years do NOT stand up to any inspection (possibly 4 months paid out of the past 36). He has issues when the City Manager tells him that, as the City Manager, he has no way of knowing what the revenues and expenses that made up the lump sum figures that he claimed in the city's budget report, were(even tho he took out an itemized quarterly report right there, in his office). He has an issue when the City pays $400 a square foot for bathrooms that should only cost $125 a square foot! He has issues when the plumbing, electrical, and sewer hookups are FORGOTTEN for the bathrooms! How can THAT happen? one expensive fiasco after another! The list of issues goes on and on.

pool audit needed

On the daily logs there is a line to note who is the cashier that day. Sometimes there is one name, or a bunch of names. More often than not, it just says "staff" or "guards". Good management principles would dictate that only those who are actually involved with taking in the money should be noted there. If someone WERE attempting to track any possible monies missing from admissions it would be difficult to tell exactly WHO handled the monies on any given day. If that is the intent of management to make it difficult to trace, that would be VERY suspicious and the entire group working that day would be in a bind. If its just another case of laziness or poor management at the pool is not important- it needs to stop NOW. Patti Bradley only documents what is given to her by the pool staff. Money could disappear at the door at the time of admission, OR it could disappear in transit to Patti. ONE person per day needs to be assigned and responsible for admission funds to eliminate ANY possible appearance of possible improprieties. It is part of being fiscally responsible and transparent. Those who are honest will not complain, as it protects them from the dishonorable ones and the reputation they bring. Dishonest types, IF there are any, will have to pay the price.

4 out of 36 payments made?

A resident who has reviwed the daily logs from 2006 thru most of 2008 has only been able to find payments for 4 months. Thirty six months, even at $200 a month, is $7200. Minus $800 in possible payments, is stil $6400 due the City. The City MUST have records IF those payments were really made, right? Only four months have been documented of those past 36 months- where is the rest? Billing for something is ONE thing, actually receiving payments is another. Receipts, deposit slips, and/or bank statements should confirm or deny such payments have been made. Several FOI requests have been made in the past month or so, requesting this information, so maybe we will just have to wait for them to figure it out. One on 11/10/08 requested to see the "rental revenues we have received from the pool for meets over the past three years- who rented them, for how much, etc." The next day another FOI requested to see " the record of the pool admissions and the resultant revenues received for the past five years." No word on either request so far, from the City. A resident has done some checking on his own back thru 2006, which would probably amount to a partial request accomodation. The records are available for review, that is true. It will be interesting to see if the City's numbers match up with the resident's numbers. Billing residents the full price while giving for-profit teams with 90% nonresidents a 90% discount is preposterous! Its the RESIDENTS who should get a discount, if anybody!!! WE are paying the bills!!!

item 5-C

An email was sent to the Mayor and Council this morning requesting information and clarification of this possible relationship the City Manager has claimed the Optimist Club has, regarding the proceeds from the concession sales. The memo was received last week by a resident and all the Council, and was quoted last week here. For those who might have missed it then, here it is again- (item 5-C, dated December 5, 2008, addressed to Mayor Bain and Council)" Concession stand is run by volunteer parents and the money is deposited with the Optimist Club through their association with the team. As it is done through the Optimist Club, no resale tax is charged......". It goes on to talk about the GMAC meet and where that money went, etc. This is important because if no relationship with the Optimist Club (a non-profit) exists, then sales taxes should be charged for the concessions stuff sold, and we could be subject to back taxes and penalties from the State of Florida. This situation needs to be resolved BEFORE the Fla Dept of Revenue pays us a visit.

education is a wonderful thing

Is it possible that the Mayor is the President of the Optimist Club? or some executive type that could have made one of those secret, handshake deals with the City Manager, without anybody else knowing it? A deal that could miraculously pop up sometime in the near future? The Mayor and Council got the same memo the resident got, with the same claim. Perhaps they just didnt bother to read it. Perhaps an email to the Mayor and ALL the Council informing them of this claim by the City Manager would be in order so they can be fully informed and take the appropriate actions to straighten this situation out. I am sure they will do the right thing, once it is brought to their attention, or at least Mr. Dotson will.

you decide

When did the Mayor and Council authorize the City Manager to charge whatever he wants at the pool? THAT conversation needs to be reviewed and scrutinized very carefully. IF that conversation NEVER happened, and yet the Mayor and Council allow this to happen with their tacit, or overt, approval (by not saying or doing anything about it, or even looking seriously into it), the question MUST be asked- why are they NOT fulfilling their duty and obligation to safeguard the interests of the taxpaying reidents? Why are they NOT looking onto this situation with serious intent and demanding accurate and timely answers from the City Manager? Why are they not looking out for the residents and fulfilling their oversight responsibilities and obligations with the City Manager? Perhaps they just dont KNOW whats happening at the pool. WHY dont they? Could it be because they are just hopelessly and helplessly oblivious? inept? corrupt? clueless? incompetent? dont WANT to know and dont care? You decide.

no taxpayer discount

"If I was running a business, and I was charged pennies to run it, so be it." What are the chances that Mr Santana wrote this comment? or the MDAC swim team chief? It COULD be either one, of course, because they are BOTH running businesses in our city for pennies on the dollar at the taxpayers expense! The taxpayers however, get NO such discount and are charged the full amount. Straight out of the taxpayers pockets and into their pockets! What is wrong with this picture?

clarifications

Nobody is saying two wrongs makes a right. What IS being said is that private enterprises at both city facilities are making a nice profit while the taxpayers in both instances are being left footing the bill. If looking at the pool seriously is warranted, and it IS, then maybe the CC and golf course should be next on the list. It WOULD be interesting to see the conversation the City Manager had with the Mayor and Council regarding the pool heaters. What did they cost? When did we buy them? Has our Winter pool revenues gone up since they were purchased? How many MORE meets are we leasing out NOW, than before? Any? No, losing 190k is NOT a good thing, but there is NO evidence so far to suggest that the losses are due to horrible mismanagemnt and/or blatant giveaways at the course, yet. The driving range revenues continue to be a problem and surely deserves some serious scrutiny. The pool, however, IS a clear case of rampant and runaway disregard for taxpayer monies from horrendous mismanagement, few controls, poor-to-no documentation, no contracts, backroom handshake deals, posted revenue numbers that make NO SENSE, and outright fabrications by the City Manager. An FOI was requested today regarding any, and all, connections the Optimist Club may have, or have had in the past, with the pool or any of the swim teams that use our pool. This should clear up THAT question once and for all.

similarities exist

There ARE some parallels between the golf course and the pool. BOTH are losing a LOT of money each year, and perhaps there are management concerns there too, altho the two running it seem to be doing a pretty good job so far. Golf, like swimming, is a great sport and good exercise. The golf course is paid for by ALL the citizens, yet benefits just a few, like the pool. The Country Club is paid for by ALL the residents, yet benefits only Mr Santana, a private, for-profit entity. We pay the CC rent, maintenance, taxes, AND electricity for him, yet another private enterprise that limits the residents use severely and benefits directly from our tax dollars. So there ARE similarities. The driving range cash skimming needs, and deserves, a closer look, along with the employees that perpetrated that scam. Lots of cash is rumored to have disappeared THERE too, and the posted numbers seem to bear that out. We are bleeding cash and revenues from number of different places, it seems, for the benefit of several different private entities, and it needs to stop. If the Mayor and Council were fulfilling their oversight responsibilities the residents wouldnt have to monitor it for themselves.

everybody has a role

Everybody has a role to play in monitoring our city officials, since the Mayor and Council refuse to do it. Some address the Council; others do other research and gather information from available community resources- phone calls, email, snail mail, personal conversations with various residents, notes, online searches, petitions to insure the residents get to vote.. it all adds up. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place, slowly but surely, and the picture developing is NOT a pretty one. Changes are needed. NOW. Yes, we can.

facts and figures needed

It would surely be interesting to know how a coach could rig a meet, or even attempt to alter the results. How would that be done? The meets are judged by meet officials, right? What EXACTLY are the complaints of the other coaches, if any? This is not at all clear, so far. Facts and figures are needed. It seems to be more conjecture so far. What IS clear is that it WOULD be a public service to name local businesses that are hiring kids. Of course there may NOT be that many hiring in this economy tho.

fuel cell efficiency

by Wiggletoe November 22, 2008 3:14 AM PST
You are in extreme error as hydrogen will be far more economical. Fuel cell cars are 3 - 4 times as efficient as regular cars (45% verses 15%) plus the regenerative braking. And in this world, hydrogen is made from natural gas and please remember, prefection is the enemy of great. Companies like Air Products sell common commercial reformers in a number of capacities off-the-shelf with advertized efficiencies in the 90% range. Sooo...., the hydrogen distribution system is the national natural gas storage and distribution system with a common commercial reformer at your local service station. Frost and Sullivan study indicates a 70% reduction in carbon emissions.
Then, a future source of hydrogen is reform of ethanol made from sugarcane produced in the US, i.e., southern LA and TX also FL, AL, MS, where it will be piped to market in updated (replace seals) existing gasoline piping system. This requires incredible volumes of sugarcane, we may need to raise cane in Cuba. Also, current fuel cells require platinum and there isn't near enough production but very recent research indicates that goretex is a superior replacement. Now take a look at your fuel cell future http://www.autoblog.com/2008/11/19/la-2008-honda-surprises-with-fc-sport-fuel-cell-sports-car-conc/

Hawaii Is a Better Place for EVs

Hawaii Is a Better Place for EVs
By Ben Mack December 05, 2008 | 2:56:35 PMCategories: Electric Vehicles


Hawaii is the latest place to fall in love with EV evangelist Shai Agassi's plan to bring electric cars to the masses, inviting his startup to build as many as 100,000 charging spots across the state by 2012 and bring EVs into the mainstream.

The deal with Better Place makes Hawaii the first state to commit itself to electric cars on a broad scale and comes two weeks after several Northern California cities joined Better Place to make the San Francisco Bay Area "the EV capital of the U.S." Considering that General Motors, BMW, Nissan and Mitsubishi are among those aggressively developing cars with cords, it looks like automakers and policymakers are finally getting serious about moving us beyond oil.

"This is the preferred future," Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said in announcing the deal with better Place. "Today is part of the execution of our energy independence, and our getting off the addiction to oil."

It's an ambitious goal, but when you think about it, Hawaii is the perfect place for EVs.

Hawaii joins Australia, Israel, Denmark and several Northern California locations in signing on with Better Place, which aims to revolutionize how we all get around. (Oregon is working with Nissan to roll out a fleet of EVs in 2010, but they'll be limited to municipal fleets to start.) In a nutshell, Agassi's idea is to bring the cellphone business model to the EV industry using a concept he calls the Electric Recharge Grid Operator.

The plan calls for building a network of "smart" charging spots. Drivers can plug in anywhere, anytime, and pay for it through a subscription much like a cell plan. They'd pay for unlimited miles, a fixed number of miles or opt to pay as they go. When customers can't wait to charge up, they can go to automated battery exchange stations where depleted batteries would be swapped for fresh ones in about the time it takes to fill a tank with gas. It wouldn't cost a cent because although customers would own the cars, the ERGO would own the batteries.

William Parks, a deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, calls the idea "really, really groundbreaking." And the bean counters at Deutsche Bank call Agassi's plan "a paradigm shift" and say, "looking at Better Place PLC's model, we conclude that a pure EV should not be more expensive than a gasoline/diesel vehicle."

Like Israel and Denmark, Hawaii is the perfect place for EVs. The island has more than 1.2 million cars and replaces between 70,000 and 120,000 of them each year. Yet most see no more than a few dozen miles a day. Hawaii is aggressively developing sustainable energy sources including wind, solar, geothermal and tidal, and it ranks fourth in the nation in use of renewable energy. And its electricity grid can easily handle the load — if every car in the state ran on electricity, it would require just 6 to 8 percent of the state's capacity.

"That's what makes it so attractive," says Peter Rosegg, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co. "We're not going to need to rebuild the system."

Naysayers argue electric cars don't reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they just move them around because most of our electricity is generated at fossil fuel-fired power plants. Not so, says the Electric Power Research Institute and the National Resources Defense Council. Their research shows plug-ins and EVs could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 450 million metric tons annually by 2050. That's the equivalent of eliminating 82.5 million gasoline vehicles — about one-third of the number currently on the road in America.

Hawaii has a strong incentive to embrace electric cars. The state imports oil to meet almost 90 percent of its energy needs, and nearly one-third of the stuff is burned in cars and buses. All that oil costs the state about $7 billion a year — more than 10 percent of the state's gross domestic product — and only Alaskans pay more for a gallon of gasoline. Lingle says the deal with Better Place "is a significant move toward our state gaining independence from foreign oil."

Better Place is working with Renault-Nissan to provide the cars, and Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn told reporters at the L.A. Auto Show that the future belongs to cars with cords. "The end game is zero emissions," he said. "I'm talking about pure electric cars, not hybrids. You're going to see many electric cars — city cars, minivans, four-by-fours. They'll be in every segment."

If you don't like Renaults or Nissans, don't sweat it. The Associated Press says Better Place is talking to other automakers, including the Big Three — should they survive. If Better Place succeeds in creating the infrastructure to make EVs viable, it's a safe bet automakers will develop the cars. "Nobody will want to be left on the sidelines once these networks are up," Lingle said.

As for the economic downturn and the implosion of the auto industry, Agassi isn't worried. He's raised more than $200 million to finance Better Place, and the Macquarie Capital Group is committed to an additional $1 billion to bring the project to Australia.

Japan is a Better Place?

Japan wants to make recharging electric cars as easy as filling a gas tank. The country is hosting the EV evangelists from electric-vehicle startup Better Place, encouraging them to build battery-exchange stations that might bring cars with cords into the mainstream.

The California company joins Subaru and Mitsubishi in helping the Japanese government get on the road toward toward its goal: half of all cars sold by 2020 will be electric. The pilot program announced Tuesday will allow consumers to swap depleted batteries for fresh ones easily when they don't have time to plug in. Limited to municipal fleets, the program is the first step toward electrifying Japan's vehicle fleet.

"Better Place is honored to participate in this groundbreaking program in a country with so much auto-manufacturing expertise," said Shai Agassi, the entrepreneur behind the venture. "Japan is moving one step closer to the next-generation, Car 2.0 model of electric cars fueled by renewable energy."

The deal comes one week after Hawaii said it will work with Better Place to roll out as many as 100,000 EV charging spots by 2012. Better Place demonstrated the technology for the first time Monday in Israel, and the first battery exchange stations could appear in Japan early next year.

For Hyundai, Blue Is the New Green

For Hyundai, Blue Is the New Green
By Stuart Schwartzapfel November 24, 2008 | 2:59:09 PMCategories: Alt Fuel, Concept Cars, Los Angeles Auto Show

LOS ANGELES — Hyundai is making a big splash here at the L.A. Auto Show with a promise to deliver a full line of hybrids and gasoline vehicles that average 35 mpg by 2015. The cornerstone of the Korean automaker's eco-plan is a hybrid sedan that breaks new ground with lithium polymer batteries Hyundai says are cheaper, lighter and more durable than anything else on the road.

By embracing lithium polymer technology, Hyundai is breaking with competitors like Toyota, which remains dedicated to the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in the Prius, and General Motors, which is pouring everything it has into developing the lithium-ion technology at the heart of the Chevrolet Volt. The company's "Blue Drive" push to seize the green mantle from Toyota and Honda begins next year when it rolls out super-efficient "Blue" versions of its already thrifty Accent and Elantra — with sticker prices below their conventional counterparts. Hyundai's first hybrid, a gas-electric version of the Sonata, follows in 2010.

“Hyundai aims to be the most fuel-efficient automaker on the planet,” says John Krafcik, VP of product development. “We’re aligning our global R&D resources in Michigan, California, Nam Yang and Frankfurt to develop the Blue Drive technologies we need to achieve our goal — a 35-mpg U.S. fleet average by 2015.”

Top Gear Flogs A Tesla -- And Breaks It

Top Gear Flogs A Tesla -- And Breaks It
By Chuck Squatriglia December 15, 2008 | 8:30:53 PMCategories: Tesla Motors


Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson beat the snot out of a pair of Tesla Roadsters, and while he was blown away by the EV's ungodly acceleration and technological prowess, he ultimately decided the car looks better on paper than it does on the track.

Clarkson couldn't contain his glee as he stomped on the accelerator for the first time, exclaiming "God Almighty!" as the Tesla smoked a Lotus Elise off the line. "Not bad for a motor that's the size of a watermelon," he said. The car's ample acceleration - 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds - was enough to make him forgive the car's somewhat clumsy handling, something Clarkson attributed to the huge battery pack.

Things were going swimmingly until the cars ran out of juice after 55 miles, needed 16 hours to recharge and broke down. That was it for Clarkson.

"The Tesla is an astonishing technical achievement - the first electric car you might actually want to own," he declared. "It's just a shame that in the real world, it doesn't seem to work."

3 Drivetrains, 1 Car, Zero Emissions

3 Drivetrains, 1 Car, Zero Emissions
By Chuck Squatriglia December 15, 2008 | 4:25:44 PMCategories: Concept Cars, Electric Vehicles, Fuel Cells

Hybrid? Electric? Hydrogen? Why choose when you can have all three?

Mercedes-Benz has developed a modular design that can accommodate a gas-electric, battery electric or hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain in a compact five-seater it calls Concept BlueZero. By using a common architecture based on the A- and B-Class subcompacts, Mercedes says it can diversify its drivetrains without developing a slew of new models.

"Our modular system allows different drive configurations for every customer requirement," says R&D chief Dr. Thomas Weber. "The modified sandwich-floor platform provides the perfect basis for a wide range of electric drive systems."

Although the three BlueZero cars coming to the Detroit auto show in January are just concepts, they are guideposts to the company's future. Mercedes says it will produce its first fuel-cell cars "on a small scale" next year and offer a "small-scale production" of EVs in 2010.

Mercedes says BlueZero allows it to easily embrace "electromobility" in three ways:

•E-Cell - a battery electric vehicle with a range of about 125 miles.
•E-Cell Plus - a range-extended electric vehicle that uses a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery as it approaches depletion. Think Chevrolet Volt but smaller.
•F-Cell - a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle with a range of about 248 miles.
The three BlueZero vehicles share components, and the design and dimensions are identical. Although the three cars are about the same size as a Honda Fit, Mercedes says they seat five adults and have plenty of cargo space. They are "electric cars offering everyday practicality," says Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche.

The "sandwich floor" architecture puts the battery pack and other components under the floor, creating plenty of room inside while giving the cars a low center of gravity, agile handing and excellent crash safety, Mercedes says.

All of the cars feature a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with a maximum capacity of 35 kWh; Mercedes says they charge in four hours when plugged into a typical wall outlet. The electric motor produces 70 kW (about 94 horsepower) and 236 foot-pounds of torque, propelling the little runabout to 62 mph in a little less than 11 seconds.

The E-Cell Plus uses a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine (the same one found in the Smart fortwo) to keep the battery going. Mercedes didn't offer any details on the fuel-cell drivetrain, but there's probably not much new to say considering the company's been developing hydrogen cars for six years.

The exterior styling provides a glimpse of the next-gen B-Class vehicles we'll see in 2010, although the translucent body panels, clear wheel covers and "three-dimensional light effects" integrated into those 20-inch wheels probably won't see production.

See Also:

•The Mercedes Coupe in Wagon Clothing
•You'll Need the Gas Savings With Mercedes' $100K Hybrid
•Daimler, Ford Place Huge Bet on Hydrogen
Images by Mercedes-Benz.
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Blah, blah , blah...


Put up or shut up.
Posted by: J-Bob | Dec 15, 2008 2:03:20 PM

J-Bob's comment is crude, but spot on. Concept cars, expecially green ones, never seem to make it past the concept stage.
Posted by: toast2042 | Dec 15, 2008 2:53:41 PM

Other models in development using the same platform include:

P-Cell: Recharges the battery via pedals located in each passenger footwell.

S-Cell: Uses a small sail to propel the vehicle to heart stopping speeds in excess of 10 mph. Also includes a small wind generator to recharge the battery.

T-Cell: Recharges the battery via a giant hamster wheel in the trunk housing a perpetually running zombie.

R-Cell: Using the extracted magic of rainbows and unicorns, this innovative propulsion system is based entirely on the power of imagination.

Posted by: AJ | Dec 15, 2008 3:15:41 PM

Looks like a messed up Honda Fit.
Posted by: Zsxd | Dec 15, 2008 3:20:33 PM

Honda Fits were messed up to being with. Besides, fuel cell is the future, we just can't utilize it fully yet.
Posted by: Serath | Dec 15, 2008 3:54:49 PM

I think it looks like a Kia Rhondo. Just thought that I would add that. I like the interior. But still I don't think that this will make it past the concept stage. I also like the idea in general but it seems like just a concept and not much more. Although if things like the drive train of a car was made up of simplified modals then it would be much easier for someone to say have a sedan, during the week it runs on say electric power and then you swap the electric motor for a more powerful diesel on the week ends for some back road fun.
Posted by: net625 | Dec 15, 2008 4:05:19 PM

Turn that E-Cell plus gas engine into a diesel engine then convert that puppy to run on bio-diesel and you have a great long distance "green" car. Until a battery only and/or fuel cell car outperforms it.
Posted by: Kalz | Dec 15, 2008 4:36:46 PM

Wow, Tony, you're really on to something. Concept cars and interracial sexual fetishes in one stop!
Posted by: Howard | Dec 15, 2008 4:51:31 PM

looks like every other mouse-like car, even comes in the popular puke green.
Posted by: Joel | Dec 15, 2008 4:59:35 PM

I own a 2007 Red Honda Fit and I think it is a really fun car. I owned a Porsche 944 before the Fit. The handling is surprisingly good and wow does it have a lot of room inside to carry a lot of stuff when the seats are folded down flat to give it 55 cu ft of cargo space. It is the best thought out car I have ever owned. Building future car types on it is a great idea.
Posted by: Jack May | Dec 15, 2008 5:23:20 PM

You may recall GM trying to sell their ludicrous "skateboard" chassis concept a few years ago: stupid because it ignored the fact that different classes of vehicles have different requirements for things like spring rates, shock absorbers, wheel travel and battery size- there couldn't be one skateboard, there would have to be dozens. There was no engineering or cost benefit: it was a re-introduction of body on frame.You will notice that none of the skateboard technology has carried over to the Volt. Mercedes has come at the problem from the other direction, and figured out a way to put a thin, flat battery pack or fuel cell into the floor pan of an existing car. It uses a platform that is being designed anyway(which simplifies the stocking of spare parts, and lowers unit costs), and because it is being designed in tandem with the A and B class, the special requirements of the new drive trains can be allowed for in the parts sourcing for the gas and diesel versions. The production volume of the A and B class will allow them to increase production if required, either by ratcheting up production lines or cannibalizing gas and diesel sales; a stand-alone vehicle with a specialized chassis could not do this. They're not betting the company on a new technology or building a token halo car. These guys have a viable plan to produce new drive trains in volume for the world market, and they're setting up to meet demand as it emerges(at least, that's how it looks to me). Any American companies doing that? Oh, I forgot. There's a new Charger and Camaro out this year. I guess they didn't have time.
Posted by: Lloyd G | Dec 15, 2008 7:17:29 PM

Serath, the fuel cell will only be the future if: hydrogen can be produced cheaply enough, which isn't likely anytime in the near future, no matter how the issue is spun by the greenies. Furthermore, the Fit is a great car and it and cars like it better represent the future than what you're probably envisioning.
Posted by: Sean | Dec 15, 2008 7:20:15 PM


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Top Gear Flogs A Tesla -- And Breaks It
Sweden Rescues Volvo and Saab from Fjord and Generål Mötors Woes
3 Drivetrains, 1 Car, Zero Emissions
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Startup Turns CO2 Into Fuel

All-Electric Mini Unveiled! | Main | The Alt-Fuel Race Cars of 2025 »

Startup Turns CO2 Into Fuel
By Dave Demerjian October 21, 2008 | 12:30:00 PMCategories: Alt Fuel, Emissions


Researchers developing alternatives to fossil fuels are working with everything from algae to babassu oil to corn, but a California company says it can recycle carbon dioxide into fuel.

Carbon Sciences claims it has developed a way of using the CO2 emitted during the combustion of coal, oil and other hydrocarbons to create transportation fuels like gasoline and jet fuel. Should Carbon Sciences — or any of the other firms working on similar projects — accomplish this on a large scale, it could bring a reduction in CO2 emissions as well as an abundant supply of renewable fuel.

"We are very excited about our novel process to transform CO2 into fuel," says company CEO Derek McLeish. "Based on our research to date, we believe that we will be able to demonstrate our technology within the next several months with a prototype that can convert a stream of CO2 into an immediately flammable liquid fuel."

Fossil fuels are comprised of chains of hydrogen and carbon atoms called, appropriately, hydrocarbons. The more carbon atoms in the chain, the greater its energy content. Gasoline, for example, has seven to 10 carbon atoms, while jet fuel has 10 to 16. When those hydrocarbons are burned, they release carbon dioxide. Theoretically, the carbon dioxide could be split and its carbon atoms used to make more hydrocarbons. But CO2 is very stable and breaking it up requires so much heat and pressure that it has not been economically viable. Carbon Sciences says it has solved that problem. "We're very excited by what we've seen in the lab," McLeish told CNN. "We've had some promising results."

The company says its "C02-to-Fuel" technology uses CO2 to create ethane, propane and methane, three run-of-the mill hydrocarbons used to make high-grade gasoline and other fuels. The key to the process is biocatalysis, a process where natural catalysts are used to perform chemical reactions. Biocatalysis is a more energy efficient and cost-effective way to break down CO2, making the possibility of a large-scale ramp up economically feasible.

The approach uses a low energy biocatalytic hydrolysis process that splits water molecules into hydrogen atoms and hydroxide ions, says Dr. Naveed Aslam, the company's chief technology officer and inventor of the process. The hydrogen is used to create hydrocarbons, while the free electrons in the hydroxide are used to fuel the biocatalytic process, he says. The process "is based on natural organic chemistry processes that occur in all living organisms where carbon atoms, extracted from CO2, and hydrogen atoms extracted from H2O, are combined to create hydrocarbon molecules using biocatalysts and small amounts of energy."

As for collecting the CO2, Carbon Sciences won't just erect a big filter in the sky and hope for the best. The idea is to set up shop alongside oil refineries and and coal plants and capture the CO2 such facilities generate.

Carbon Sciences isn't the only outfit seeking viable ways to recycle carbon dioxide. Scientists at Sandia National Laboratory have developed a way to use sunlight to convert CO2 into fuel. Newcastle University researchers can use CO2 to create chemical compounds called cyclic carbonates. The compounds are used in many solvents and also could be used as an additive to make gasoline burn more efficiently.

The potential benefits of this technology should not be understated. Not only would it capture greenhouse gases otherwise released into the atmosphere, but it would create a renewable source of fuel. "This is about closing the cycle," Ellen Stechel, manager of Sandia's Fuels and Energy Transitions department, told us earlier this year as she discussed the lab's Sunlight to Petrol project. "Right now our fossil fuels are emitting CO2. This would help us manage and reduce our emissions and put us on the path to a carbon-neutral energy system."

Michael North, a professor of organic chemistry at Newcastle University, notes that renewable sources of hydrocarbons would benefit much more than the transportation sector. "People don't seem to realize that ten percent of everything that comes out of an oil well doesn't go to the fuel industry — it drives the chemical industry," he tells CNN. "Not only are we facing a fuel crisis, but the entire chemical industry is likely to cease to exist. So we desperately need to find ways of making chemical materials out of CO2."

Morocco issues biometric ID cards

Morocco issues biometric ID cards
Posted by Mark Rutherford Font size Print E-mail Share 5 commentsYahoo! Buzz
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(Credit: Thales)Morocco's national security service has begun issuing millions of "contactless," biometric identification smart cards to simultaneously fight terrorism and guarantee respect for "citizens' rights and liberty," according to that North African government.

Moroccan citizens over 18 years old are required to carry the new ID, but on the upside; the card conveniently supplants birth certificates, certificate of residence, certificate of life, and certificate of nationality in "all procedures for which these documents must be provided."

Artists, however, will continue to be issued a professional ID card by the Ministry of Culture.

The smart cards hold personal details and biometric data, and can be used as travel documents, as well as a way for the government to "control migration flows." Naturally, no one besides the cardholder and authorized government entities will have access to the personal data in the bar code and on the microchip.

French aerospace giant Thales provided the system, which included the security software, document production equipment, and the "connectivity with the Automated Fingerprint Identification System which acquires digital fingerprints."

This is the world's first national ID system based on contactless smart-card technology, according to the press release. The Direction Generale de la Securite Nationale (DGSN) has issued at least a million cards to date and plans to distribute 20 million more over the next four years.

The ID cards for artists, meanwhile, afford them a "more structured environment" in which to work and ensure "conditions necessary to promote creativity," according to the Ministry. There also are unspecified "social benefits."

Machine converts plastic waste to armored panels

November 25, 2008 1:00 PM PST
Machine converts plastic waste to armored panels
Posted by Mark Rutherford Font size Print E-mail Share 2 commentsYahoo! Buzz
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(Credit: Crown Copyright)A Welsh company has an answer for your battlefield waste disposal problems--a machine that turns mixed plastic trash into bullet- and fireproof armored panels.

Protomax Plastics, an engineering company based in Swansea, Wales, U.K., said its new P2 machine uses junk like discarded plastic bags and old milk crates to build everything from surfboards and kayaks to lightweight Kevlar protected panels.

"This technology has a wide range of applications, from construction of modular housing to materials for the automotive, security, and defense sectors," said Nick Stillwell, managing director of Protomax. "The panels can be produced on-site using local waste material, since the technology is easily transported and the panels are light and easy to handle, allowing quicker assembly than with traditional building materials."

Protomax adapted the technique from a process developed in 2002 by Detroit-based 3DM Technologies for DaimlerChrysler, which wanted to use it to manufacture plastic pickup boxes for the Dodge Dakota. It was also licensed for use to develop prefabricated housing in Mexico. The process is called powder impression molding, or PIM. It involves fusing powdered thermoplastic resins with reinforcing materials at relatively low temperatures, which produces a lightweight composite that is as strong as steel, according to the company.

The process holds out hope that companies may be able to eliminate landfill and reduce their carbon footprint by recycling their waste on-site, the company said.

Sounds like a good way to clean up the Green Zone and up-armor the Humvee fleet at the same time

more daily logs to be reviewed

More daily pool logs are to be reviewed tomorrow by the Resident. It is a full ten days after the initial review and it will be interesting to see if the numbers noted before still match the numbers to be reviewed tomorrow. Still no word on the FOI regarding the previous three years revenues realized by the City for MDAC, Columbus, Reagan, and scuba. Some City Hall personnel on vacation last week is probably a valid reason for not viewing it during that week. It will be easy to tell if numbers have been altered, as specific notes were taken last time, and can easily be referred to.

Council failure

It appears that there is a LOT of highly questionable, and very possibly dishonest, stuff going on at our pool! Groundless criticisms are not necessary when it comes to our city management. There are PLENTY of grounds for criticism, and a lot of the pool criticisms have been stated here, repeatedly, with NO REPLY that makes any sense. If you have reasonable grounds to contest, or protest, anything the City is, or isnt, doing, feel free to let us know about that too! (keeping it mostly issue-oriented, of course, not personality-oriented). We are currently looking closely at the pool, its operations, lack of management and controls, theoretical connections to the Optimist Club, giveaways, and revenue postings that make NO SENSE and offer NO verification. The golf course has been suggested as the next area of interest, once all the pool answers are in the open and discussed thoroughly. Since the Mayor and Council WONT do this work, the residents HAVE TO.

year-round santa

The point is well taken, regarding the naming of private citizens, their statements, and actions. Nobody needs any legal hassles and that point is considerably more important than a degeneration of comments into personal vendettas, tho they could be related. Any new candidate should be judged by their positions and rationale for taking those positions. Talk to them and let them explain their vision for the future of Miami Springs, tomorrow and the next decade. The Santa Claus meet brought in no money for MS? Who hosted it? Santa IS a very congenial guy and gives away a LOT of stuff every year! His fulltime job is here, managing the City, but here he only gives a LOT of taxpayers stuff away to special interests, be they Santana, private swim teams, or private contractors. What about the commercial that was shot in the gym and caused it to be closed down to residents for a week? What revenues did we receive for that inconvenience to the residents? Anything?

comments

Taking bond money from the County means we cant deny nonresidents admission. I DOESNT say we have to give it to them for FREE or at fire-sale prices! When you consider that only 5% of MDAC is from the Springs, it only makes sense that we should only pay 5% of the costs during the school year, no? Actually year-round 5% makes sense.

5% solution

Taking bond money from the County means we cant deny nonresidents admission. I DOESNT say we have to give it to them for FREE or at fire-sale prices! When you consider that only 5% of M DAC is from the Springs, it only makes sense that we should only pay 5% of the costs during the school year, no? Actually year-round 5% makes sense.

clarification

The statement was that less than a dozen residents SPOKE! Go back and read it again. Did the Pathetic One ACTUALLY say that public tax monies are usually given away to private companies so THEY can make a profit? Incredible! Since when? We pay OUR taxes to support the profits of a private swim team? Amazing! If Im not mistaken there are SPECIFIC clauses in our charter that pointedly FORBID that happening! In WHAT other sports do we subsidize a private, for-profit team? Baseball? Basketball? Soccer? Football? That is one of the more absurd comments we have had here, lately. It ranks right up there with the ridiculous comment about someone being dropped on their head- and states it as FACT? Sounds like maybe that poster had been dropped once too many times to me, and their comment was a testament to that experience. At least two pools and their meet costs have been posted here in the past two weeks, both charge $165 an hour for meets. S Fla. areas 10 and 12, I believe. Check it out for yourself. Would you call a grown man who bullies young employees by fear, intimidation, and retributions a coward? or just a bully? The resident doesnt really like to use names much here, as it can deteriorate into personal insults and attacks, and he prefers to stick to the issues. His name has been used a couple times here already and his address and number is in the phone book. He checks his emails and snail mail every day. All info will be checked out for accuracy of course, and pointers in a general direction usually work best. A dozen or so good pointers have been provided so far and have been very helpful. Thanks to ALL of you! Keeping ones job today, in these tough times, sounds pretty smart to me! The nearby pools have been identified that would be available for uasge by MDAC, or ANY swim team. Those of you who wanted details should be satisfied now. Good work researching that information! The resident takes NO credit for any of that info, as its been a team of other residents doing the legwork. Give credit where credit is due. This is becoming a community project, as it should be.

solar brightens up

Another Sunny Year for Solar Powerby Janet L. Sawin | May 8, 2008
Global production of photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells-which convert the sun's light directly to electricity-increased 51 percent in 2007, to 3,733 megawatts.1 (See Figure 1.) According to early estimates, more than 2,935 megawatts of solar modules were installed that year, bringing cumulative global installations of PVs since 1996 to more than 9,740 megawatts-enough to meet the annual electricity demand of more than 3 million homes in Europe.2 (See Figure 2.) Over the past five years, annual global production of PV cells has increased nearly sevenfold, and cumulative installations have grown more than fivefold.3

Europe-led by Germany-passed Japan to lead the world in PV manufacture, producing an estimated 1,063 megawatts of solar cells in 2007, up 56 percent over 2006.4 (See Figure 3.) About 40,000 people are now employed in the PV industry in Germany alone, and the German company Q-Cells outproduced Japan's Sharp to become the number one manufacturer worldwide.5

Germany remains the world's top PV installer, accounting for almost half of the global market in 2007.6 Thanks to the country's feed-in tariff for renewable electricity, which requires utilities to pay customers a guaranteed rate for any renewable power they feed into the grid, Germans installed about 1,300 megawatts of new PV capacity, up from 850 megawatts in 2006, for a total exceeding 3,830 megawatts.7 As capacity has risen, PV installed system costs have been cut in half in Germany between 1997 and 2007.8 PVs now meet about 1 percent of Germany's electricity demand, a share that some analysts expect could reach 25 percent by 2050.9

Japan continued to produce more PV cells than any other individual country, with 920 megawatts manufactured in 2007.10 But Japan's share of the world total fell from 37 percent in 2006 to just below 25 percent.11 Unable to compete with China and Taiwan for low-cost solar cells, Japanese manufacturers have changed tactics and are looking beyond conventional crystalline silicon cells to thin-film technology.12 Domestic installations in Japan declined from 286 megawatts in 2006 to an estimated 230 megawatts in 2007.13

China climbed rapidly to become the second largest cell-producing nation after Japan, manufacturing about 820 megawatts of PVs and accounting for 22 percent of global production.14 But annual production capacity reached almost 1,590 megawatts by the end of the year, well ahead of any other country (though still 9 percent below all of Europe).15 Despite these impressive numbers, the Chinese market for PVs remains small, and much of the 20 megawatts of new capacity installed in 2007 was for remote off-grid applications.16 Taiwan is also experiencing dramatic growth in production, manufacturing 368 megawatts of cells in 2007 and ending the year with the capacity to produce 710 megawatts annually.17

Spain ranked second after Germany for total installations in 2007 but accounts for only an estimated 3 percent of global production.18 According to estimates, Spain added anywhere from 425 to 640 megawatts in 2007, up from fewer than 100 megawatts in 2006.19 This puts the country well ahead of the government's official target of 400 megawatts by 2010.20 The market in Spain is being driven by a strong guaranteed price for PV electricity.21

In the United States, cell production rose 48 percent to 266 megawatts.22 Although this represents a dramatic increase in production from the once world-leading U.S. solar industry, the nation's shares of global production and installations continued to fall in 2007. PV cell production accounted for only 7 percent of the global total, down slightly relative to 2006.23 But U.S. manufacturers are now focused on the "next wave" of solar technologies: in 2007, the United States accounted for approximately two thirds of global thin-film production.24

An estimated 150 megawatts of new gridconnected PV capacity was installed in the United States in 2007, up about 45 percent over the previous year, putting the nation in fourth place for total capacity-behind Germany, Japan, and Spain.25 California continued to dominate the U.S. market, though growth was slower than expected because of changes in state incentive levels and a weak dollar.26 U.S. utilities are beginning to recognize the potential value of solar PV: in early 2008, Southern California Edison announced plans to install 250 megawatts of distributed capacity over the next five years.27

Other countries becoming major players include Italy (25-50 megawatts installed), South Korea (50 megawatts), and France (45 megawatts), all thanks to new or strengthened feed-in laws.28 In addition, India installed an estimated 20 megawatts, and Portugal added 10 megawatts.29 Some of Portugal's additions were part of a large solar plant that came online in early 2007 and will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 8,000 households.30

Such strong growth occurred against a backdrop of polysilicon shortages-supply has been tight since 2005, driven mainly by strong policies pushing demand growth.31 However, significant new capacity will start to come online in the second half of 2008.32 The European Photovoltaic Industry Association projects 80,000 tons of annual production by 2010, up from just over 37,000 tons in 2007.33 Some analysts are predicting excess capacity within the next few years, and in early 2008 China-based Trina Solar canceled plans for a new 10,000-ton polysilicon production facility.34

The current shortage is driving advances in thin film technologies, which require no polysilicon. Thin films are composed of very thin layers of photosensitive materials and require less energy and materials to make than conventional silicon-based solar cells and are cheaper to produce.35 They can be integrated into roof shingles, siding, and the windows of buildings.36 After decades of market disappointment, thin-film production has increased nearly fourfold in the past two years, claiming more than 10 percent of the global market in 2007.37

Performance data for such technologies are relatively limited, and efficiencies remain low compared with conventional solar cells.38 But the situation is rapidly improving-commercial efficiencies rose from 9 to 10 percent in 2007, and in early 2008 researchers at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory set a new record at 19.9 percent efficient, close to commercial levels for conventional cells.39 Because of the potential for dramatic cost reduction, many researchers view thin films as the future of solar.40 The solar industry attracted $3 billion in equity during 2007, with some of the biggest investments going to young solar companies in the United States and to thin-film technologies.41

Scientists are also working on a range of third- and fourth-generation PV technologies.42 German researchers have developed a prototype solar module that uses organic dyes combined with nanoparticles, applied to glass with a screen printing technique, to generate electricity.43 Konarka Technologies successfully conducted its first demonstration of manufacturing PV cells with ink-jet printing in early 2008.44 And companies in the United States and Europe are exploring ways to turn road surfaces into solar power generators.45

Thanks to economies of scale, rising conversion efficiencies, and more-efficient use of polysilicon in conventional cells, average PV module prices declined in 2007, even as polysilicon prices rose.46 Stronger than expected demand growth in Spain helped keep global PV prices higher in 2007 than some had predicted.47 But analysts and industry leaders alike expect continued price reductions in the near future through further economies of scale and increased optimization in assembly and installation.48 The Prometheus Institute projects that installed system prices for large projects will fall 50 percent by 2010, to $4 per watt peak (without incentives) in the best locations.49

Solar electricity is likely to become cost-competitive with the retail price of electricity in many parts of the world in the next several years. As Jesse Pichel of New York's Piper Jaffray said recently: "Whether it's 2010, 2012, or 2015, I think everyone can see the writing on the wall."50 When solar becomes competitive with conventional power, "solar power demand is infinite."51

education is a wonderful thing

Are the ones who dont show up HERE, on an anonymous blog, with numbers and facts to support their position also cowards? The only one that is KNOWN to have told a lie so far is the City Manager, with his Optimist fairy tale. The revenue numbers make NO SENSE, but may just be incompetence and general cluelessness on the part of city officials, giving them the benefit of the doubt. That is not necessarily a good thing to have in your city officials, but it beats having liars and thieves there! Right? What are the chances we have ALL OF THE ABOVE in City Hall? With NO Council oversight, save Dotson. Its a sad situation- and expensive! sad and expensive for the taxpayers! NOT to the City Managers, or the Council! THEIR checks roll in steadily, and in full. Where are all those people who spoke FOR the pool being open year-round at a cost of 200k HERE? They could present their own facts and figures HERE for discussion! NONE show up with credible or rational responses. This forum requires NO time off work, travel time, parking, babysitters- NOTHING! And STILL they dont show up here, the easiest forum for anybody to access! Are THEY all cowards too? Perhaps they are just not fully informed on ALL the issues? If so, this is a good place to become educated, as there are several people in the community who have considerable knowledge and experience at the pool and are familiar with its workings, and others who are open-minded and willing to learn.

no more fabrications

Exactly what false and inaccurate information did the resident present at the Council meeting? We are losing 200k by keeping the pool open year-round? There are four other places to swim ten driving minutes from here? Public tax monies are being used to subsidize a private enterprise? The simple solutions are to charge and collect the standard going rates for the use of our pool for practices and meets. This would help defray our expenses. Provide rosters and accurate revenue info so we can see how are money is being spent, and for whose benefit. This is American democracy in action! Is asking city officials for accurate, timely, and honest information asking too much? Once all the revenues that we should get have been collected, a cost/benefit analysis can be made as to whether the pool should be considered for closing during the school year (as it has often been in the past), or not. We are in a recession that is getting worse every day. People are hurting. Taxpayers are hurting. Can we afford this 200k luxury for the benefit of a few Springs users? No rational decision can be made until we get real and accurate revenue and expense numbers that make sense from the City Manager. It might also be helpful if he admitted he made up that story about the Optimist connection. How much OTHER stuff has he made up? A pool audit by an outside, independent agency would resolve ALL of these questions. If you want answers, there are some suggestions as to where to start. Feel free to dispute any and all of the facts and figures presented here IF you have different, verifiable facts and figures to present, their sources, and rationale. None of the pool crowd has shown up HERE with ANY of that information! Is it because they are cowardly, or just don't have any believable numbers based on facts to present?

personal attacks not helpful

It seems a bit premature, misguided, and uncalled for to attack a guy for announcing to run for Council. It could be, and should be, a chance for residents to serve the City, even a civic responsibility in some peoples eyes. I mean, you could question his support for a new gym, annexation, and any of a dozen other projects he supports that are in close agreement with the Mayors, Garcia's, and the City Manager's agendas, those would be fair game, and he could explain his positions and rationale behind those decisions. Its not clear how personal attacks of questionable validity are helping move the discussions forward, toward a resolution regarding any candidates qualifications or hopes and dreams for the residents of Miami Springs.

still curiously clueless, after all these years

The posted revenues of $2150 are from the 07-08 budget. How many years prior to then have been under-reported? IF those monies were collected, and there IS some doubt about that, there will be a paper trail to confirm that. If there arent any receipts, deposit slips, or bank statement to confirm those monies, then it has to be asked-WHY NOT? A multi-million dollar City enterprise has NO WAY of confirming what revenues it billed for and collected? Gorland says, after 40 years of having the pool, he has NO detailed and itemized means to know how much revenues were taken in and where they came from? Why would THAT be so hard to believe? Thats either monumental incompetency OR deliberately dishonest dealings! Which is it? Neither is okay. An outside, independent audit is required to restore any faith in the City Managers and find out whats REALLY going on at the pool! NOW.

no reply

Dan Bradley still works for the City? News to me. I thought hes been gone for a couple years now. If it was him, I'll bet we would have the REAL scoop by now! Havent hears any REAL inside stories so there ARE doubts, but anybody with good information is welcome to post here, right? This IS America, right? This-you cant be telling the truth because there arent enough of you- argument is getting tiresome to listen to. IF it made any sense it would be a different thing, but it has NO basis in fact, much like the revenue numbers presented and the Optimist connection. Is THAT the best they got? Pathetic. They are saying - Dont confuse the issues with facts. The facts speak for themselves. Of ALL the facts and figures presented here NONE have been refuted. NONE. If there are different verifiable, rational numbers or facts out there, THATS the only thing that can counter the points made here, and NONE have been presented. NONE. ZIP. NADA. ZERO. The Optimist connection was presented as an explanation why no sales tax has been charged for concession sales, but that turned out to be bogus too. The pool revenue numbers for the past 2-3 years are completely untrue too. Posted revenues of $2150 make NO sense IF they collected, as they SAY they did, $1500 from both Columbus and Reagan HS ($3000 totals there), $2400 for MDAC ($200 a month for 12 months), the $1100 from MSSH, $1500 per meet from MDAC ($750 per day, 2 days times two meets, total of $3000), and whatever they rented the pool out for private birthday parties, scuba, etc. Add it up and it comes to WELL over $8400. IF those monies were collected there should be receipts, deposit slips, and bank statements to that effect. To only claim 20% of the actual revenues owed to the City, and taxpayers, raises a serious question regarding competency, at the VERY least, and honesty in the worst case scenario. And this only accounts for last years revenues. Have the revenues been under-reported before that?

discussions missed ?

Perhaps a few things were missing at the last OPEN discussion at the pool- when was the nonexistent Optimist connection discussed? When was the incongruent and unbelievable posted numbers for pool revenues for the past 2-3 years discussed? Was the standard rates for renting a pool for practices and meets discussed at all? The City Manager said he had NO IDEA what other pool facilities charge, so that discussion MUST have been VERY interesting! Was ANYTHING confirmed, with receipts, deposit slips, or bank statements? After hearing the fabricated Optimist connection, it is hard to believe in anything else the City Manager has to say. Accurate and verifaible proof is needed, in spades, before any trust can be built again.