Showing posts with label Anthony Musto. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthony Musto. Show all posts

Monday, October 29, 2012

re South Florida Sun-Sentinel:When are Broward County residents FINALLY going to get the "whole truth" from the Tribune Company's South Florida Sun-Sentinel and some public explanation for their continued reluctance to report it and useful context in Broward County news? Their problems with facts & bias are getting worse by the month; Joy Cooper's red-light camera friends and supporters; Sun-Sentinel's pro-Debbie Wasserman-Schultz bias is a continuing insult to readers; @MayorCooper

I sent the following email on Friday to some of the known members of what for lack of a better word I'm calling the "Central Editorial and Management Brain" of The Tribune Company's South Florida Sun-Sentinel, though it is, admittedly, somewhat incomplete since the Sun-Sentinel does not currently list it's own top management executives and Dept. heads on its own website. Oh, well.
You work with what you have.

You can well imagine why they choose to keep readers in the dark about who is responsible for the final product, much less, their contact information.
No, you're right.
They're not so big on transparency when it comes to themselves as when they rail against others.

I should think that at this point, regular readers of the blog hardly need me repeat here and now why it was sent, as the email is pretty self-explanatory -and long overdue.
And the fun is just beginning...

I've deleted the email addresses below.
-----

Subject: When are Broward readers going to get the entire truth from you? re South Florida Sun-Sentinel's continued reluctance to report the truth and useful context in Broward County
To: Dana Banker, Rosemary Goudreau, Gary Stein, Douglas Lyons
Cc: Michael Mayo, Brittany Wallman, Brittany, 
And to the following management executives from the Miami Herald: Aminda Marques, Rick Hirsch

October 26, 2012

Dear Messrs Banker, Goudreau, Stein & Lyons:

I'll be honest.
I'm writing today to get you to admit the truth, because the truth has been sadly absent or elusive from far too many stories, columns and editorials over the past year in the Sun-Sentinel, and curiosity has been M.I.A.
Frankly, the truth seems to have become a much lower priority for Sun-Sentinel the past few months in its news accounts of local government and politics.

Since I still have a lot of errands to run this afternoon, I'll mention just two here out of the many that I'm already personally aware of.

#! 1 - Before the Sun-Sentinel printed Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper's Op-Ed on July 22, 2012, supporting both the idea of and the expansion of red-light cameras throughout South Florida, 
did anyone from your Editorial Board or senior management think to ask her whether or not she had received or expected to receive campaign contributions from any company associated with that particular issue?

I ask because shortly after you provided Cooper with that giant platform to sing the praises of something that has NOT worked in this city -despite her aggressive manhandling efforts to cram it down the collective throats of Hallandale Beach residents, something proven by a report issued by the city weeks ago that  showed there actually was an increase in accidents 
Mayor Cooper received several thousands of dollars from Arizona-based ATSAmerican Traffic Solutions, the very company that installed their equipment here in Hallandale Beach.

Was Cooper ever asked whether or not ATS had ever paid for any meal or given her any gift while she was the elected President of the Florida League of Cities, or whether they gave the League any money before or while she was President and had the cameras installed in Hallandale Beach, when they were desperately scouring the state looking for pliable Florida pols to initiate it in their communities as a money-maker for them and the city, even while
arguing that it would decrease accidents?

If not, why not?
Why has your newspaper refused to mention these easily-verified facts in the three months since that her words appeared in-print and online?

2. For months, your newspaper has refused to make mention of a negative story involving Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz that has appeared in newspapers large and small throughout the United States.

The story concerned the-then new e-book written by the POLITICO's Glenn Thrush on the 2012 presidential campaign. 
The short version of the story is that among employees at Obama HQ in Chicago, DWS was by far their least-favorite Obama surrogate.
Not earth-shattering news, of course, but still news, especially for your newspaper given where it is distributed.
In fact, it's actually much more newsy than most of the pieces you run on DWS, of which there are too many in my opinion, as opposed to the almost complete lack of anything mentioning Frederica Wilson, who for another 11 days represents me and tens of thousands of your readers.

(You were certainly late to catching onto the fact that she had among the ten worst attendance records in the entire U.S. Congress in 2011, even before her surgery. 
And what bills has Wilson sponsored in two years that have moved anywhere?
None.)

It's quite noticeable that your newspaper, the local newspaper for her purposes, has, on too many occasions, gone out of its way to avoid printing it, mentioning the Thrush e-book or even alluding to it in articles, columns, essays, blogs or Letters to the Editor.
I know because I have actively looked for any signs of it -to no avail- even after checking your archives.
I checked hoping I was wrong and just missed it -nope, I was correct.
You never mentioned it.

It's almost like there's an invisible shield around the newspaper, or more accurately, a choke-collar around editors' collective throats, that interferes from treating this particular elected official like any other.

But an arm's-length relationship with her seems to be something that your newspaper seems incapable of achieving because it acts like it wants so very much more.

Frankly, that sort of continual submissiveness in a newspaper does nothing for its current and longstanding reputation among readers of not just being a lapdog for all things DWS, but practically being a member of her Inner Circle, a Golden Lapdog or whatever she calls people or groups she plays for fools.

Yes, there are many, many intelligent and well-informed people in South Florida who believe that she has you right where she wants you -on a short-leash.
The central problem is that you think it's out of affection, while she no doubt sees it as neutralizing the one newspaper that is most likely to print her foibles and problems and have them broadcast far beyond her congressional district.

(Though you may not think so, or like the comparison, among people who ARE paying attention in HB and Hollywood with respect to your coverage of DWS, your newspaper is viewed no differently than the taxpayer-subsidized faux newspaper in HB, the South Florida Sun-Times, in its fawning coverage of Mayor Joy Cooper, who, along with her husband, previously threatened to run the owners out of business many years ago after they printed something that was just slightly critical of her.)

(I didn't have that article handy when I sent Friday's email but have since found it.
It was a guest column that appeared on December 4, 2003, written by then-Hallandale Beach City Commissioner Anthony "Tony" Musto, and it was titled, appropriately enough, "Is there really a magic act going on in Hallandale Beach?"
In it's next-to-last paragraph re the state's Sunshine Laws and the city's very strange and un-democratic reading of it under Mayor Joy Cooper and the City Commission, which included Bill Julian, it concludes with this line that rings as true today as it did almost nine years ago. 
"The mayor, however, has fostered a closed-door mentality that minimizes the dissemination of information and citizen involvement.)

Frankly, in my opinion, the remaining shreds of your journalistic objectivity disintegrate completely when people in a responsible position at your newspaper decide to allow Anthony Man to engage in his over-the-top coverage of DWS's every single movement at various times throughout the year, even while he neglects to mention the time of day to give readers any sense of perspective.
It's so unseemly, not to mention, so uninformative and boosterish, that I've had to throw the paper in the garbage bin rather than in the recycling bin to prevent the stink from it fouling up my kitchen.

I have written on this subject many times and the truth is that the Miami Herald is no better on this subject, having never mentioned the DWS/Thrush story either.
But then it's common knowledge among Broward residents who pay attention that their management and editorial team don't really consider Broward County to be a real place, full of living, breathing people/consumers/voters, just a place marked terra incognita on their maps, a fact that is proven when they go 6-7 months without anything anyone or anything re Broward County govt., politics, personalities or current events, much less, public policy, even appearing in their predictable four-page Sunday Op-Ed section.
The very same section where they can't go two weeks without mentioning Cuba or Haiti on their four pages, but something on where a good chunk of their readership lives, NADA.

Their consistently terrible coverage of local news and govt. in Broward County and unwillingness to have a Broward-centric columnist is their problem to solve, but it's no excuse for your newspaper and its its employees consistently ignoring what is in plain sight, even while it's now become par for the course for both of you.

But you at least have the advantage of geography, so what's your excuse for always being so slow on the uptick and always late to the news? 
Or not even present?
Or consciously NOT printing news that's not favorable to powerful or influential people with whom you deign to stay on good terms with?

It's all very curious and does not at all encourage either respect or future support. 

DBS, Nine-year resident of Hallandale Beach

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Csaba Kulin on the reality of Hallandale Beach's population & demographics, and the anti-democratic Charter proposal for 'districting' that insults common sense and mathematics


Csaba Kulin on the reality of Hallandale Beach's population & demographics, and the anti-democratic Charter proposal for 'districting' that insults common sense and mathematics 

Below are two emails from my friend and fellow Hallandale Beach and Broward civic activist Csaba Kulin from the past month. They concern an upcoming Charter issue appearing on the ballot in Hallandale Beach that most well-informed people in this community paying attention quite rightly believe has the potential to make this city's elections even less-democratic and meaningful than they are now. 

And which could actually  decrease overall voter participation while also greatly helping incumbent city commissioners stay in power. 

WTF?

Now you must be asking yourself, who'd knowingly be in favor of doing all these things?
Yes, you already know the answer to that: Mayor Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew of Commissioners Dotty Ross, Anthony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy.

That it fails the logic and reason test is not surprising, given this crew's past track record,  penchant for mischief and circus antics, but what's surprising is that given the large number of ways that this city's resident taxpayers could actually get genuinely better and more meaningful representation for the entire city on the City Commission, such a ridiculously asinine proposal would be the one approved for the ballot by the Commission.
Surprise!

This while others were not even considered, despite how much more logical, positive and persuasive they are for getting increased citizen/voter participation at HB City Hall and come election time, which this year is November 6th.

Because there is so very much to say on this subject -which, as usual, has been completely ignored by the taxpayer-financed faux newspaper, South Florida Sun-Times- later tonight after the Oscars telecast day or tomorrow, I'll be posting something with my own thoughts on what Csaba has written.

If you didn't see my blog post on Wednesday on what measures Mayor Joy Cooper is considering in order to get her own way on this Charter matter -despite how self-serving that effort truly is- it's well worth reading and can be seen here:
News re Ben Gamla Charter; Csaba Kulin informs us how Mayor Joy Cooper seeks to divide the community again and make-up new rules for her own benefit

In that future post I'll also take the opportunity to shine some long overdue light and scrutiny on some particularly galling and condescending remarks made by Comm. Alexander Lewy in a recent email of his, an email that posits a parallel-yet-opposite universe.
Unfortunately, Lewy's condescending email completely ignores the sad and unfortunate reality of this universe, where perpetually-oblivious Comm. Anthony A. Sanders has been a DISASTER in office for all Hallandale Beach residents, a disaster that will mark four years come August.

Trust me, no matter how many times you read what Comm. Lewy says, it never ever makes sense.
And if you're someone who actually endeavors to pay attention to what happens in this ocean-side community in SE Broward County, and who actually knows the truth about what goes on here, Lewy's Twilight Zone-like remarks will only make your head hurt!

-----
January 31, 2012
RE: Districting in Hallandale Beach.
Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor and Members of the City Commission,
During January 17, 2012 City Commission Meeting and several meetings of the Charter Review Committee (CRC) a considerable amount of time was spent on districting versus not districting and if districting, what kind of districting should it be. I believe you have at this time four options in front of you.
1.    The CRC recommendation of a seven member commission, mayor, three at large commissioners and three commissioners elected by districts.
2.    The Mayor suggested that the mayor should be elected at large and one commissioner elected from each of the four districts.
3.    Commissioner Lewy suggested that each chair be given a number and candidates compete for a particular seat number.
4.    Do nothing and stay with the current system.
I believe all versions have the intentions to increase minority representation while remaining fair to the rest of our citizens. The concerns I have is, very little proof, examples and evidence was presented by knowledgeable sources of the unintended consequences of any of the options. Do we increase or decrease minority representation? Do we disenfranchise any other part of the City?  
The CRC did ask the City for the 2010 Census data to be able to evaluate population distribution by Census Tracts. The City did not provide those numbers to the CRC so I had researched it myself. I have attached the data in a spreadsheet for anyone to analyze.  In case you do not have a spread sheet on your computer, I included the data at the bottom of my e-mail.
Please analyze the numbers, keeping in mind that each district must have approximately the same number of residents in it. How you could draw the districts you propose?
I have tried several different combinations of census tracts and I did not find a real good solution. Maybe you will be more successful than I was.
This is an extremely important decision you have to make. It is not something you can reverse on a “three to two vote”. Based on the lack of solid information and the unknown unintended consequences, I would go with the “devil I know versus the devil I do not know”. In other words, I would stay with the current system we had for a long, long time.
I hope this data will help in your deliberations.               
         
Sincerely,
Csaba Kulin

Tract
Block
Census
Total
GOLDEN ISLES AND THE BEACH
Group
Block
Residents

SE
Golden Isles
1001
3
1
2,531
6.82%
SE
A1A West side, South End
1001
4
2
2,045
5.51%
SE
A1A East Side
1001
5
2,900
7.81%
SE
A1A West Side, North End
1001
1
4
1,053
2.84%
SE
East of US 1 and South of Hallandale Beach Blvd
1003
3
2
1,017
2.74%
9,546
25.72%
NORTH EAST SECTION
NE
East of Parkview, West of Intercoastal
1001
1
1
2,374
6.40%
NE
East of Three Island Blvd, South of Moffet, West of Parkview
1001
2
2
2,117
5.70%
NE
East of Diplomat Parkway, West of Three Island Blvd
1001
1
4
1,287
3.47%
NE
East of NE 14th Ave, West of Diplomat Parkway, North of HB Blvd
1001
1
3
1,214
3.27%
NE
East of NE 8th Ave, South of Moffit, West of NE 14th, North of 3rd
1002
2
1
2,419
6.52%
NE
East of US 1, West of 8th Ave, South Moffit, North of 3rd Street
1002
2
2
791
2.13%
NE
East of US 1 and North of HB Blvd and West of NE 14th Ave
1002
2
2
1,776
4.79%
NE
North of HB Blvd, West of US 1, East of Dixie
1002
1
1
1,218
3.28%
13,196
35.56%
SOUTH WEST SECTION
SW
South of HB Blvd, West of Dixie, East of NW 6th Ave
1003
1
2,212
5.96%
SW
South of HB Blvd, West of US 1, East of NW 6th Ave
1003
2
1,091
2.94%
SW
South of HB Blnd, East of SW 10th Ave, West of SE 6th Ave
1003
3
1,579
4.25%
SW
West of US 1, East of Dixie, South of SW 10 Street
1003
4
1,171
3.16%
SW
East of US 95, West of  SW 10th Ave, South of HB Blvd
1005
2
2
2,785
7.50%
8,838
23.81%
NORTH WEST SECTION
NW
South of Penbrook, West of Dixie
1004
1
1,006
2.71%
NW
North of HB Blvd, West of Dixie, South of NW 10
1004
2
1,138
3.07%
NW
East of US 95, North of HB Blvd, West of NW 8th Ave
1004
3
2,099
5.66%
NW
South of Penbroke, East of NW 8th Ave,
1004
4
924
2.49%
5,167
13.92%
36,747
99.01%


-----

  

February 6, 2012
RE: Districting in Hallandale Beach.

Dear Friends and Residents of Hallandale Beach;

Every eight years the Hallandale Beach City Commission appoints a citizen-led Charter Review Commission (CRC) to examine the City Charter (their Constitution) and recommend changes to the Charter. The City Commission reviews the recommended changes and proposals they agree with are then placed on the ballot to be voted upon by citizens during a regularly-scheduled election or special referendum. The ones the City Commission does not agree with are ignored. 
Residents have the option of putting any Charter changes that are NOT approved by the City Commission on the ballot by what is now a very cumbersome petition process, one that seems designed to make it very difficult to go around the City Commission.

The CRC under former HB Commissioner Tony Musto’s excellent leadership, recommended five (5) specific issues to be placed on the ballot for consideration, as well as a number of recommendations to consider possibly placing on the ballot. All the recommendations are important, but one stands out in my opinion, as the most important change in the way our City is governed. 

That is the recommendation that we elect our City Commissioners by district. 
The impetus behind districting, according to its supporters, is to institutionalize a City Commission seat to the Northwest quadrant of our City. 
It's a noble idea, but the US Census Bureau’s 2010 data indicates that the NW area currently has only 5,167 residents, less than 14% of the city's total population.
Since the current system consists of four (4) City Commissioners elected “At-Large,” without increasing the number of City Commission seats, each seat would legally need to have 25% of the population within it.

In my opinion, the only way that the NW could have a distinct district of their own would be thru a Charter Question being placed on the ballot asking city voters to approve an increase in number from 4 to eight (8) City Commissioners, with the office of Mayor continuing to be voted upon by the entire city.

I have posted the 2010 Census figures at the bottom of this letter for your examination and to give you the evidence you need to have an informed opinion.   
In the interest of disclosure, these proposals would NOT affect the 2012 election and therefore my own candidacy, since if approved, it would not take effect until 2014.

The CRC recommended one method, Mayor Cooper yet another method of districting, but it looks as Comm. Alexander Lewy’s unsound method is moving forward. 
Comm. Lewy suggests that the City number each “seat” on the commission, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Every two years we would have seat 1 and 2, or 3 and 4 up for election. 
As I understand it, there would be no residency requirement to run for either “seat” and every registered voter may vote for a candidate for each seat.

As I see it, Comm. Lewy’s poorly-conceived idea has some major flaws in it. 
Currently, in each election cycle, the top two candidates are elected to a four year term by the number of votes cast for them. The third, fourth and fifth-place finishers go home to try harder at the next election.

In order to better illustrate the fundamental unfairness of what Comm. Lewy is proposing, let me give you a hypothetical situation. 
You have four candidates, two for seat “1” and two for seat “2”. 
Candidate “A” gets 4,000 votes and Candidate “B” gets 3,800 votes for seat “1”. 
Candidate “C” gets 2,500 votes and Candidate “D” gets 2,000 votes for seat “2”. 

Under Comm. Lewy's anti-democratic proposal, Candidate “A” wins with 4,000 votes, of course, yet somehow  Candidate “C” wins with 2,500 votes but Candidate “B” loses with 3,800 votes. 
In my opinion that's totally unfair to Candidate “B” and I think you can see why. 
As has always been the case with an election for two seats, the two top vote-getters should be the actual "winners" in an election in Hallandale Beach.

Comm. Lewy’s very bad idea would literally seek to “divide and conquer” the people of this city.
As always, the best way to make sure that any area of the city is well-represented is to have the highest number of quality candidates running, NOT changing the rules and allowing candidates the ability to to choose an area of the city to represent without them being legally required to live there to qualify.

I strongly believe that every City Commissioner, regardless of where they personally live, must represent, work for and be a strong advocate for the ENTIRE CITY, and not just one part of it to be elected or re-elected. Any candidate for the City Commissioner MUST be acceptable to all areas of the City or he/she will not be elected.

Districting is a major deviation from years of practice in our City. While no one claims that the current system is perfect, the evidence seems clear that there are far too many unknown consequences to the districting idea proposed by Comm. Lewy, and all of them are negative towards actually improving this city.

That is why, given the poor choices we have been given to vote on by the HB City Commission, I recommend that we “go with devil we know, versus the devil we don't know”, and leave well enough alone.
I will vote an emphatic NO on this proposal.

Sincerely,

Csaba Kulin 


           
  Tract
Residents/ Percentage  
                         
GOLDEN ISLES AND THE BEACH
SE
Golden Isles
1001-3-1
2,531
6.82%
SE
A1A West side, South End
1001-4-2
2,045
5.51%
SE
A1A East Side
1001-5
2,900
7.81%
SE
A1A West Side, North End
1001-1-4
1,053
2.84%
SE
East of US 1 and South of Hallandale Beach Blvd
1003-3-2
1,017
2.74%
9,546
25.72%
NORTH EAST SECTION
NE
East of Parkview, West of Intercoastal
1001-1-1
2,374
6.40%
NE
East of Three Island Blvd, South of Moffet, West of Parkview
1001-2-2
2,117
5.70%
NE
East of Diplomat Parkway, West of Three Island Blvd
1001-1-4
1,287
3.47%
NE
East of NE 14th Ave, West of Diplomat Parkway, North of HB Blvd
1001-1-3
1,214
3.27%
NE
East of NE 8th Ave, South of Moffit, West of NE 14th, North of 3rd
1002-2-1
2,419
6.52%
NE
East of US 1, West of 8th Ave, South Moffit, North of 3rd Street
1002-2-2
791
2.13%
NE
East of US 1 and North of HB Blvd and West of NE 14th Ave
1002-2-2
1,776
4.79%
NE
North of HB Blvd, West of US 1, East of Dixie
1002-1-1
1,218
3.28%
13,196
35.56%
SOUTH WEST SECTION
SW
South of HB Blvd, West of Dixie, East of NW 6th Ave
1003-1
2,212
5.96%
SW
South of HB Blvd, West of US 1, East of NW 6th Ave
1003-2
1,091
2.94%
SW
South of HB Blnd, East of SW 10th Ave, West of SE 6th Ave
1003-3
1,579
4.25%
SW
West of US 1, East of Dixie, South of SW 10 Street
1003-4
1,171
3.16%
SW
East of US 95, West of  SW 10th Ave, South of HB Blvd
1005-2-2
2,785
7.50%
8,838
23.81%
NORTH WEST SECTION
NW
South of Penbrook, West of Dixie
1004-1
1,006
2.71%
NW
North of HB Blvd, West of Dixie, South of NW 10
1004-2
1,138
3.07%
NW
East of US 95, North of HB Blvd, West of NW 8th Ave
1004-3
2,099
5.66%
NW
South of Penbroke, East of NW 8th Ave,
1004-4
924
2.49%
5,167
13.92%
36,747
99.01%