Meanwhile FIFA still gets $46M from taxpayers
Say goodbye to addiction outreach teams, and hello to more overdoses and addicts, if Miami-Dade commissioners approve the 2025-2026 budget proposed this week by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. It proposes a number of cuts to fill the $402 million budget shortfall that the county is facing now that all our federal COVID cash has dried up.
Abuelito‘s subsidized lunch? No más, as three food programs for seniors are on the chopping block. Two senior day care centers — one in Little River and one in South Dade — could be closed.
Also, everybody may have to pay $5 to park at Tropical Park or A.D. Barnes Park. And if you go to a public county pool, well, swim at your own risk or take your own personal lifeguard. But mosquitos and rats will get their time to shine as the county cuts down on landscaping in public areas.
And there are about $40 million in cuts to non-profit grants, some of which may be justified but others that will definitely affect safety nets for thousands of people who live and work in Miami-Dade and fall through the government cracks.
Meanwhile, FIFA still gets $46 million from the taxpayers in cash and in-kind services for their World Cup. Because, you know, priorities.
Read related: Miami-Dade could cut back services, give millions to FIFA for World Cup
Subsidies for billion dollar brands and “economic incentives” do not seem to be as expendable as park programming or, say. senior meals when it comes to the recommended cuts to the $402 million budget shortfall that the county is facing now that all our federal COVID cash has dried up.
The proposed budget “reflects the needs of our community, with responsible, accountable fiscal leadership,” Levine Cava said, with a straight face, in a press conference at County Hall Tuesday that looked more like a funeral. She was flanked by her bloated cabinet of chiefs of this and that, including Public Safety Chief James Reyes — who is doing what, exactly, now that we have a sheriff? — and Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales, who was hiding behind the sign language interpreter in the corner.
None of them looked very happy.
It seems they should be smiling more if they are really “building a stronger, more secure Miami-Dade for tomorrow and delivering essential services, spending every single taxpayer dollar efficiently and being accountable to the residents we serve,” as Levine Cava said.
The mayor bragged long-delayed improvements made to Miami International Airport — which still has a long way to go (more on that later) — increased investments in law enforcement and the public transit system, residential and business assistance programs and a spike in the county’s bond rating, which saves more than $500 million over the life of the bonds. She also said these investments made Miami-Dade “one of fastest recovering economies in the country” after the pandemic.
Levine Cava thanked the commission for two consecutive years of decreases in the county’s millage, or tax rate, bringing it to its lowest since 1982, and “easing the burden for many families in our community who are struggling to help ends meet.”
“But today, we are facing a new and difficult fiscal reality,” Levine Cava said. “This budget year brings extraordinary challenges.”
This year’s proposed flat rate will mean that almost everybody pays higher taxes due to increased property values (more on that later).
La Alcaldesa laid the blame for nearly half of the shortfall on the five constitutional offices for the elected county sheriff, supervisor of elections, clerk, property appraiser and tax collector, which are now separate entities, the result of a “mandate,” which is what she called the state charter amendment that was passed by 58% of county voters in 2018.
“The expansion of essentially one county government into six has come at a great cost,” Levine Cava said.
She also said that there has been an increase in the demand for services as well as in the cost of goods and services that affect the government just like it affects families. This has created what she called “the perfect storm.” And like any household, the county has had to tighten its belt, “making sure that every single taxpayer cent is spent” wisely.
Read related: Miami-Dade elected officials say they went to Panama on their own dime
Departments have cut their budgets between 10 and 35 percent, Levine Cava said, adding that some would merge to streamline services, combine functions and create savings while maintaining services. Some park programming would be sacrificed and grants to nonprofits, which has become a controversial process recently, are also going to be “scaled back,” she said.
While Metro Connect — an on-demand, shared-ride service designed to fill the “first mile, last mile” gap in public transportation — will also be scaled back, there are no proposed cuts to Metro Rail, Metro Mover and Metro Bus. In fact, the county expects to launch the South Dade Bus Rapid Transit line later this year. Seniors can also continue to get their Golden Passport for free, which allows them to ride for free.
Maybe they can go get something to eat.
“We did everything possible to protect essential services and employees,” Levine Cava said. Really? Ladra knows where you can find $46 million.
Miami-Dade Commissioners seemed surprised by the proposed budget at Wednesday’s meeting, where they were tasked with setting the tax rate. But each of them have met with the mayor or someone from her office. Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez said said he met with Levine Cava weekly on the budget and that she told him more than once that “she’s lost a lot of sleep” over it. “As have I,” Rodriguez said.
So, they knew this was coming. It’s not a surprise. Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez issued a statement that said the county commission had misplaced the blame.
“Miami-Dade County had seven full years to prepare for this transition—to plan, budget, and make sure everything was ready. But they failed to act,” Fernandez said, referring to the lack of preparation following the voter-mandated transition to constitutional offices in 2018, which was approved by 58% of the voters in Miami-Dade.
“Miami-Dade County does not have a revenue problem,” said Fernandez, a Republican. “It has a spending problem.”
The county commission was also split pretty much along partisan lines: Republicans like Roberto Gonzalez are suddenly fiscal hawks, accusing the mayor of being too generous with other people’s money. This is rich, coming from the guy who spent $1 million of other people’s money getting a second district office because the first one didn’t meet his standards.
Read related: Miami-Dade taxpayers fund $1 mil move for Commissioner Rob Gonzalez
Commissioner Raquel Regalado called the proposed budget a “work in progress” and wanted the commission to cut the tax rate by the tiniest percentage, again. It’s just a habit with her. She does it every year.
“I understand that this is a painful year,” Regalado said, agreeing with the tax collector on the constitutional offices. “We started talking about the impact of the constitutional offices five years ago. And three years ago we established a fund and started talking about what we needed to put away.”
She suggested that the commission have an appropriations committee meeting in August “to go line by line” and find more places to cut. “I don’t think this is a budget we can leave until the week before the budget hearing.
“This is not a year when we can just disagree with the mayor’s recommendation,” Regalado added. “This is a year where we have to provide alternatives to her.
“This year and next year are going to be very different and we’ve known that for a very, very, very long time. We either have to reduce services or we have to reduce growth.”
Newly-appointed Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis agreed that the tax rate should go down. “The proposal as it stands today, asks working families to pay more while getting less,” she said, adding that she was concerned about landscaping cuts leading to illegal dumping and the increased park fees.
“That’s one of the free and safe places families can go and spend time together,” Milian Orbis said.”Our budget reflects our values and this one right now sends the wrong message.”
Commissioner Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez said he would also make himself available to find efficiencies but he didn’t want to shrink the tax rate just a tad to save few dollars at the expense of more service cuts.
“If we are going to lower it to be the equivalent of a Happy Meal at McDonald’s for our residents and hurt the services provided to the residents of  Miami-Dade County, that smacks to me of politics, it doesn’t smack to me of practicality,” Bermudez said.
Commissioner Senator Rene Garcia agreed with a special meeting to try to lower the flat rate and that the timing was perfect for it. “It’s important for all of us to really take a deep dive and find savings,” he said.
Read related: René García ditches Hialeah mayoral race — after stirring the political pot
But Wednesday’s meeting was eight hours long. How long will a line-by-line review of the budget take? Ladra would guess around three days..
The Democrats on the dais were already shocked at the cuts that are already proposed and are unlikely to support more “adjustments” to services. Commissioner Marleine Bastien called it “a budget without soul.” Commissioner Kionne McGhee said “working families are left out.”
Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who still doesn’t realize he is no longer the chair, urged the commission to pass the flat rate because they can always reduce it later. They can’t increase it. He said he feared that “base services” like transportation and parks would be hit harder if any more cuts were needed.
“When people talk about austerity and talk about ‘tighten your belt,’ it’s figurative. They’re saying it, but they’re not actually literal. This isn’t one of the talk shows like MSNBC or CNN or FOX. This isn’t any radio show. This isn’t a newspaper. This isn’t a speech in congress. This isn’t a speech in Tallahassee.”
No, but apparently it is a speech at Miami-Dade Government Center.
Gilbert said he was willing to meet in August to work on reductions. “But I think it’s prudent for us to make sure we can at least staff and fund the government at this level,” he said. “When we take in less money, we have to provide fewer services. when we provide those fewer services, typically that accompanies layoffs.”
La Alcaldesa insists she is cutting where she can without eliminating bus routes, firing employees or closing entire parks — yet.
“They were all very hard choices, but they were the right choices,” she told commissioners at Wednesday’s meeting, asking them not to cut the tax rate. “Making any millage cuts now when we have prepared a far balanced budget despite unprecendedn financial restraints would be fiscally irresponsible and would only cause residents to experience deeper service adjustments.”
Meanwhile, residents are left asking why abuelito can’t get his meals delivered but we’re still footing the bill for international soccer.
There will have a chance to ask at two public budget hearings, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18. The appropriations committee when commissioners go line by line, with one of those combs for lice, to find more savings will likely be Aug. 20. Regalado wanted to have it sooner but the mayor said she won’t be here.
Find more information about the 2025-26 budget and the budget process here.
To support Ladra and keep Political Cortadito brewing, make a contribution to watchdog journalism here.
The post Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Pressure mounted after weeks of inaction, soft words
Finally! After weeks of soft punches and lackluster response, Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava has found her spine and is fighting back against the fascist forces that built and are operating a secret immigration jail in the middle of the Everglades — on an abandoned airstrip that we, the people, own, by the way — without so much as a whisper of due process or transparency.
As far as Gov. Ron DeSantis is concerned, Miami-Dade can go pound sand. Who needs local government or Home Rule when you have emergency powers and delusions of grandeur?
Up to now, Levine Cava has been too polite, citing mostly environmental and financial concerns in very bureaucratic messages. But on Tuesday, she demanded the state provide the county with actual accountability and a peek into the 3,000-bed detention compound plopped down like a giant slap in the face — or federal middle finger pointed at Miami-Dade leaders and residents.
It was almost like she had no political aspirations after this.
But that changed this week, just as the first detainees were getting uncomfortable in their new digs, perhaps in response to a letter sent to the mayor from a coalition of community groups and a pair of billboards that called her out and told residents to urge her to sue the state. Maybe she had to poll first?
In the sharply-worded letter of her own to Attorney General James Uthmeier (a.k.a. DeSantis’ old chief of staff turned full-time enabler), the mayor asked for monitoring access, remote video, weekly updates, and in-person inspections of the sprawling complex, which the AG himself proudly branded “Alligator Alcatraz.” That name ain’t even creative or ironic. It sounds like the punchline of a bad Florida Man joke.
They even have merch. For $30 you can own a t-shirt and for $27, a “trucker’s hat.” Proceeds go to the Republican Party of Florida. Because they see Alligator Alcatraz as a revenue source. Maybe that’s the punchline.

To be fair to the mayor, this quiet power and land grab has happened faster than the cafecito turnaround at the Versailles ventanita. The state took over the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on June 23, and poof — that was the end of local authority. One minute it was county land in the middle of Big Cypress swamp; eight days later, it was a DeSantis internment camp, complete with chain link cages, a 10,000-foot runway to sneak people out of the country and zero press access.
Even Immigration and Customs Enforcement is trying to distance itself from this abomination, pointing fingers at Florida. This is all the state’s doing.
So, what’s changed Levine Cava’s tone in two weeks? Let’s see…
Read related: Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s fluoride veto was carefully cast
National horror story newscasts about the inhumane conditions in ICE facilities and poor treatment of detainees, including a 75-year-old Cuban man who was detained for deportation because of an 1980s marijuana arrest and died in custody in Miami, may have gnawed at her. Half of the deaths in ICE custody since the beginning of the year, by the way, have been in Florida. And that’s before they built a concentration camp of soft-sided tents on a patch of flood-prone wetlands at the edge of the Everglades to keep immigrants that are being snatched off the streets.
Videos have been posted of water pooling around electrical wires at the grand opening tour taken last week by President Donald Trump and DeSantis, which was catered — gotta have finger food for the hungry haters — by local eateries that are now being boycotted. Family members of the first detainees have reported their loves are lacking food (they get one meal a day), basic hygiene and access to legal representation. A group of state legislators were denied entry, even though they have a legal right to come up in for a surprise inspection whenever they want.
Digital billboards shaming the mayor into action — at I-95 and NW 135th Street and on the Dolphin Expressway, facing west — followed a letter sent by a coalition of more than 50 organizations asking La Alcaldesa and the commissioners to sue the state and get Alligator Alcatraz shut down. The letter points out how the whole deal is rips off the county, which is smart because the way to our electeds hearts is through their wallets. The state has offered to pay just $20 million for land worth ten times that, and that would be paid out of disaster funds allocated for things like hurricane relief. The annual operation is estimated at $450 a year, while the state expects to see a $2.8 billion budget shortfall next year.

“DeSantis’s move to seize land owned by Miami-Dade County worth an estimated $195 million has been met with almost no resistance by local officials,” starts the letter from the organizations — which include the ACLU, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Florida Rising, Community Justice Center, Dream Defenders and Engage Miami, among others. They expect more from our leaders in a county with the highest percentage of immigrant residents in Florida, where more than 54% of residents are foreign-born and more than 70% are Hispanic. They criticized Levine Cava’s “meek resistance” and said her previous communication with the governor had been “technocratic.”
They pointed to “catastrophic” potential impacts, which range from environmental to fiscal to humanitarian.
“The mad dash to open a 3,000 person detention camp is irresponsible and dangerous. Confining immigrants in cages within tents on the ancestral land of the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes during Florida’s extreme summer and hurricane seasons is a deliberately cruel scheme designed to inflict suffering on those held there. That kind of cruelty is reminiscent of Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s inhumane tent city in Arizona, which was shut down after years of lawsuits from mistreated prisoners.
“Environmentally, Alligator Alcatraz threatens one of the most ecologically significant and fragile landscapes in North America. The proposed development site is surrounded by sensitive habitats that are already under increasing pressure from climate change, invasive species, and human encroachment. The heavy infrastructure and increased activity associated with a high-security detention camp, including lighting, road traffic, noise pollution, water discharge, and waste generation, would further fragment wildlife corridors and degrade ecosystems protected under federal and state law.”
Then there’s the slap in the face to the native Americans who were in the Everglades before we were. For Florida’s indigenous peoples, the site is priceless sacred ground. Miccosukee tribal member Betty Osceola has been out there protesting almost every day.
Read related: Miami-Dade commissioners sit silent as resident is dragged out of County Hall
“There are also serious questions about how such a site would protect any semblance of due process for immigrants,” the letter states. “Will those detained in this Everglades Detention Camp have access to lawyers? Will loved ones be able to visit and keep in touch with those in detention? Will there be any oversight by third-party groups on the conditions at this detention camp and the treatment of those detained there? Considering the horrific conditions at other detention facilities in Florida, like Krome Detention Center, the mistreatment and death of detained immigrants seems inevitable – and intentional.”
It’s almost certain that people will die at Alligator Alcatraz. If they haven’t already. Authorities denied that there was a medical emergency even after an ambulance was seen leaving the compound this week. A local hospital official confirmed that they had treated a detainee from the brand new facility. Once caught, authorities admitted someone was transported, without providing any details. But they said he came back and was fine. How can we believe anything they say?
“Authoritarianism festers when executives like Ron DeSantis are allowed to rule by decree. Even before Alligator Alcatraz, DeSantis had defined his political legacy by gleeful cruelty against immigrants. Miami-Dade officials have to unequivocally stand up for all their constituents and push back against those profiting from human suffering in Florida. While we appreciate that Mayor Daniella Levine Cava offered some mild resistance with her letter to the Governor outlining environmental and financial concerns with the project, this moment requires leadership and courage and unequivocal opposition by this body to stop the state law enforcement descension on the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport site in the Everglades.
“We call on Mayor Levine-Cava and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners to file a lawsuit to stop the operation of Alligator Alcatraz, the dehumanization of Florida residents, and the destruction of our shared natural resources. Any failure to act now implies complicity for the human rights abuses and deaths that will follow if Alligator Alcatraz is allowed to operate.”
What’s she gonna tell her grandchildren?

Read Full Story

Chairman Anthony Rodriguez can claim the chaos
In what is one of the most egregious abuses of power that Ladra has witnessed in decades of government reporting, the Miami-Dade Commission sat silently by while a resident who had gone to County Hall to have her voice heard was violently dragged out of Commission Chambers last week by at least four officers and eventually arrested on trumped up felony charges.
And the cowards have not said anything since.
While they all bear responsibility for allowing this to happen, unnecessarily, the biggest burden falls on Commission Chairman Anthony “A-Rod” Rodriguez, who caused a lot of confusion in his hasty attempt to mute the large crowd that had gone to speak against an agenda item at Thursday’s meeting that would authorize an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on reimbursement and public records for detainees (more on that later).
Read related: Miami-Dade could go above and beyond to help ICE with local detainees
Rodriguez said that if even only one person spoke, then that would be the public hearing and nobody could speak about the issue again if it were taken up later (fully knowing it was not going to be taken up later). This was confusing people, especially since the county attorney said that no, they could speak later. Which means Rodriguez was lying. The item also said the agreement would be retroactive, so people were wondering if that meant it had already been implemented.
In a video shot by The Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks, (who also captured the featured image above) Camila Ramos is dragged from the Miami-Dade Commission Chambers June 26.
Camila Ramos, a real estate agent who went before the commission to oppose the agreement, was still in jail Friday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after she was dragged out of county hall. According to the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department’s online inmate search, she was at the Turner Guilford Knight corrections center until she was released around 4 p.m., with a $7,500 bond on charges of aggravated battery of a police officer and resisting arrest with violence.
Another protester who was also arrested was also released.
Attorney Bruce Lehr, who is representing Ramos, told Political Cortadito that the first charge was already changed from first degree felony aggravated battery to battery, a third degree felony. This is based on the allegation that she struck a police officer in the face with a closed fist. But anyone who watches the video can see that Ramos was not in control of her own body as police grabbed her by her arms, her wrists, her legs and even her hair to drag and carry her out of commission chambers. She may have hit someone by accident while she was flailing about.
In fact, the video taken by The Miami Herald should come with a disclaimer for gratuitous violence.
“No, no, noooo,” she is heard saying as they surround her and grab her. “I’m just asking about the process. I just asked about the process.” She goes limp. She probably weighs 110 pounds soaking wet.
“Let go of me, let go of me, let go of me, let go of me” Ramos wails, and everybody stands by and does nothing. She grabs a man’s sleeve as they drag her off, but he just smirks. “No! No!”
Ladra is not sure it’s her or someone else who says “Stop what you’re doing.” Then Ramos tells the officers that she’ll leave on her own. “Let me go. Let me go. I can stand and I can be quiet. No! Let me go. I have a right to understand this process.”
They ask her if she can walk. She says she needs to take a breath. So they keep dragging her out.
That kind of escalation was completely unnecessary.
And not one commissioner had the nerve to stand up for this constituent. They let it continue to escalate as people in the audience watched completely in shock. Someone could have simply said something like, “Hold on a second. Let her leave on her own two feet. Ma’am, contact my chief of staff outside the chambers and I will hear your concerns. I’m sorry about this.”
That would have taken guts. But it’s much easier to let this just happen and then, well maybe so many people won’t show up to public meetings and get all up in their business.
That”s why, instead, “We will have order in this chamber,” is all that Rodriguez repeated. At one point he smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “We will have order in this chamber.”
Quite tellingly, none of them have been reachable. Calls to Rodriguez, Sen. Rene Garcia, and commissioners Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez, Oliver Gilbert, Eileen Higgins, Danielle Cohen Higgins and the communications director for Commissioner Marleine Bastien, were not answered nor returned. And, while all of them are quick to make sweeping statements about local, state and national issues — especially to support or oppose something Donald Trump did — not one single statement had been issued as of Friday morning.
Read related: Miami-Dade leaders react to Donald Trump’s new ‘xenophobic’ travel ban
Only Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who also did nothing as they dragged Camila Ramos away, made a statement Friday that spoke about the general chaos — Rodriguez at one point recessed the meeting and came back — but made absolutely no mention of the total police overreaction and violation of Ramos’ rights (more on that later).
“I know many people in our community have concerns about this issue, and it was unfortunate that yesterday’s meeting escalated the way it did when people were there simply to make their voices heard,” La Alcaldesa said in her statement. “It’s critical that all residents have the opportunity to address their elected officials on topics impacting our community, and I’m glad that the Board ultimately did hold a public hearing so that residents could be heard.
“Public input is an essential part of an accessible, accountable local government and as elected officials we should encourage all residents to exercise their right to participate in local decision-making.”
What happened Thursday will not encourage anyone to participate. In fact, it will serve as a chilling factor and keep people away from County Hall for public comments. Wouldn’t that make Rodriguez and Gilbert, who has been slow to hand over the chairman’s reins, happy? They are the biggest champions of silencing the citizens and have both often stymied the First Amendment rights of other speakers throughout the years.
Rodriguez often cuts comments from two minutes to one minute because there are just too many people who want to speak. Nosy busybodies. He has also shut the mic off in mid sentence more than once. That’s what he did recently to Kendall activist Mike Rosenberg, founder of the Pets’ Trust Initiative and president the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations. But first, Rodriguez warned him, as caught in this video clip posted on YouTube.
“Mr. Rosenberg, I think you’ve been made aware to stay on topic, on the item you’re here to speak on,” the chairman told Rosenberg at the May 20 meeting, where the activist had gone to speak about an idea to help save stray animals. An item on the agenda about banning the feeding of strays had been withdrawn, Rodriguez said, so Rosenberg had no right to speak on it. Rosenberg says the agenda was not set until after the public comments, so the item was set to be deferred but had not yet been. It was not a pretty exchange.
“It didn’t say withdrawn yesterday when I looked at the agenda. It changed somewhere overnight,” Rosenberg said.
“I’m not going to debate that right now,” Rodriguez told him.
Rosenberg knew he would be cut off. “I’ve seen it before,” he said. But he cited rules that showed the reasonable opportunity to be heard was before the setting of the agenda. Or he began to, anyway, before Rodriguez interrupted him.
“We don’t ask questions from the podium,” Rodriguez said. We don’t? Then where is it that the public can ask questions of matters before the commission? And Rosenberg wasn’t asking a question, by the way. “You’re down to a minute, 20,” the chairman added. But when Rosenberg — the only speaker at that meeting — started to speak again, he was cut off because Rodriguez did not want to hear about it for even 80 seconds.
That’s asking too much? That our electeds listen for 120 seconds?
“Just ask yourself if this would encourage you to want be a part of this board of county commissioners and be involved in our community,” Rosenberg told Political Cortadito. “Two hours to get downtown and 90 minutes to get home. Only one speaker and they stopped me.”
Yeah, no. The answer is no.
There is a long history at Miami-Dade of cutting speakers off or discouraging. public comment in other ways. Some of the rules are ridiculously obvious for their single intent to curve public discourse. If you speak at one meeting, you can’t speak at another, even if more commissioners are there the second time. Chairpersons before Rodriguez — Gilbert for sure but also Chairmen Esteban “Stevie” Bovo and Jose “Pepe” Diaz — have also been known to thwart any public comments from constituents.
Read related: Miami-Dade’s Esteban Bovo cuts public speech on i-word
But it has never risen to the level of Thursday’s escalation of intimidation.
According to one person who was at the chambers on Thursday when Camila Ramos was dragged out, the officers were shouting and one who was there even had a rifle. Another person said that the members of her group were pushed and shoved by police officers. Why is there an officer with a rifle at a commission meeting? What’s next? The National Guard? It certainly did seem like what happened Thursday would not have happened if hostilities toward protesters had not been turned up nationwide.
What the commission wants to do is to stifle any criticism. The attitude Rodriguez puts on during meetings is precisely intended to thwart public comment. He couldn’t care less. We need more people like Camila Ramos willing to stick her neck out to say that our comments and opinions matter.
And less cowards on the county commission.
While they stayed spinelesslessly silent after what happened Thursday, all the way in Surfside, Mayor Charles Burkett sent an email Friday morning to his staff as a warning that this should not happen in their town. “This is really bad. I can’t think of any good reason why a situation like this ought to evolve with a woman on the floor with two very strong police around her,” Burkett wrote.
“We must never allow something like this to happen under our watch.”
Don’t you wish some county commissioner had said that?
The post Miami-Dade commissioners sit silent as resident is dragged out of County Hall appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

It’s not scientific, or anything. But the results of a paper ballot survey of the Kendall and West Kendall residents who went to a town hall meeting Tuesday hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations was interesting nonetheless.
Not everybody answered every question, but the questions did get between 127 and 138 answers, that were later tallied up by KFHA President Michael Rosenberg.
Read related: Kendall residents take fight against 5G towers to Miami-Dade commissioners
Among the more interesting answers was whether or not Miami-Dade County should keep the fluoride in the water. The commission voted April 1 to stop adding fluoride to the water, but Mayor Daniella Levine Cava vetoed it. Contrary to the much more scientific poll done by La Alcadesa‘s political team — where more residents support keeping it the additive in the tap water than not — more people at the KFHA meeting said no, don’t keep it in the water. Not by much. They were pretty evenly split.
Still, this will likely be used as ammunition by Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who sponsored the measure and is likely to lead an override attempt against the mayor’s veto May 6. He had a staffer in the audience.
Predictably, an overwhelming majority of those who filled out the ballot survey also felt that Miami-Dade should stop charging property taxes and that the county should find another way to dispose of trash without having to build an incinerator, which commissioners have stalled on but will discuss again in June. Or is it July?
And because the room was full of Kendall people, they were overwhelmingly in favor of having a park in the place of the closed and abandoned Calusa Golf Course instead of something like 540 homes. Yeah, ’cause that’s still going on (more on that later).
What Ladra did not expect was the result to the question, “Would you like to have a town hall meeting with Congressman Carlos Gimenez?” It got the second largest yes response, after the Calusa question, with 101 in favor.
Hear that Gimenez? They want to have a word. Time to connect with your constituents.
Ladra doubts the former county mayor is going to go anywhere near a town hall these days, judging how those are going for Republicans across the country in the wake of what many see as a constitutional crisis happening in real time. Two words: Not well.
Read related: Video blasts U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez for silence on ending TPS, deportations
People also seem in favor of getting some sort of property tax discount if they have 5G towers abutting their property, and bringing the value of it down. But they weren’t big on incorporating Kendall and West Kendall. They like their UMSA there.
The saddest answer was the one about whether or not people think that their county government listens to them. Almost 4 to 1, they said no. Ladra wants to talk to the 21 people who said yes and ask what their secret is.
Well, maybe 20, if one of the ballots was filled out by the District 11 employee.

The post Survey of Kendall residents shows they agree on Calusa, split on fluoride appeared first on Political Cortadito.

Read Full Story

Magnum Brickell, Quail Roost Station add 600+ units
As the White House considers major cuts to federal housing programs, like Section 8, for next year’s budget, according to the New York Times, Miami-Dade is making strides in providing more affordable units through transit-oriented developments.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Kionne McGhee will celebrate the grand opening Thursday of the first phase of Quail Roost Station, a 200-unit development that brings affordable housing for seniors to Cutler Bay (in the featured photo above).
Next week, the same duo will preside over the groundbreaking of the new and improved Homestead Gardens Phase I, the first part of a new affordable housing community being developed through the conversion of an existing aging affordable complex that was built in Homestead in 1977.
This comes on the heels last week of the opening of Magnus Brickell, touted as the largest single-phase mixed-income venture in the county — at least so far. The 465-residences are available for rent at blended affordable housing, workforce housing and market-rate housing rates, and is a public-private partnership between Related Urban, the county’s housing and community development department and Miami-Dade Public Schools.
And last month, developers broke ground on the 47-acre Upland Park, a transit-oriented, mixed use project that is expected to transform the Dolphin Park-and-Ride terminal into a major multimodal transit hub. It will have more than 2,000 mid-rise and garden-style apartments, 282,000 square feet of retail and 414,000 square feet of commercial space near Doral.
“Upland Park is a prime example of how we are continuing to build a better community for all and a future-ready Miami-Dade County,” Levine Cava said last month. “Located alongside the 836 Expressway, which features a dedicated bus lane, this development will provide residents with seamless and efficient transit options, further integrating smart mobility solutions into our growing region.”
Read related: Doral seeks input on update to city transit plan, expanded trolley service
There are at least three more transit-oriented projects in the pipeline including Meridian Point at Goulds Station, which broke ground in January and will be funded with $2.6 million in surtax funds. The development offers 113 apartments in two, buildings — a seven-story, 80-unit building and a three-story 33-unit “garden building” — for families with incomes ranging from 30% to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Sixty-eight units are reserved for families currently residing at the nearby Cutler Manor Apartments, which is slated for redevelopment into a mixed-income affordable community.
“These developments provide public transportation connections to employment centers, schools, arts and culture, and healthcare, making it easier for residents to access essential services and opportunities,” Levine Cava has said.
In Downtown Miami
Located in the heart of Brickell, the Magnus project, at 201 SW 10th St., is unique for workforce housing in that it features top-tier amenities such as an expansive sun deck, resort-style swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness center, pet-friendly spaces, a podcast studio, Wi-Fi-enabled co-working spaces, and panoramic views of the iconic Brickell skyline.
All for rents starting at under $300 a month!
That’s the starting rate for some, depending on resident income, of the 93 affordable or low-income housing units that were built under the Rental Assistance Demonstration program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Claudia Gonzalez, a spokesperson for Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who attended the opening. “In RAD, units move to a Section 8 platform with a long-term contract that, by law, must be renewed in perpetuity,” the HUD website says. “A Use Agreement is also recorded under RAD further enforcing HUD’s long-term interest. This ensures that the units remain permanently affordable to low-income households.”
The building also has 70 workforce housing units for folks making 120% Area Medium Income (AMI) and below — so maximum salary for residents is $95,400 for one person — which seems like a lot — and $108,960 combined for two people, which sounds much more “workforce” to Ladra than $95K for one. The AMI is set yearly by US HUD and is currently at $79,400 in Miami-Dade.
Rents are listed between $2,783 and $4,720 on the realtor.com website. The marketplace rates are what allows such quality affordable housing, officials say.
“This project is about creating homes for families who need them the most,” Commissioner Higgins said in a statement. “With 93 units for very low-income residents and 70 for workforce families, we are taking a big step toward ensuring that everyone in our community, regardless of income, has access to a place they can truly call home.
“Located just steps away from transit options, Magnus Brickell connects residents to better job opportunities, healthcare, and schools. And with a new K-8 school right next door, it’s the perfect place for children and families to thrive,” said Higgins, who is running (maybe) for Miami mayor. “This is what progress looks like, and I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Read related: Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins could join Miami Mayor’s race
She was a little too effusive of the developers: “We extend our heartfelt thanks to Related Group for being exceptional partners in this endeavor,” Higgins said in her statement. “Their dedication to getting things done is inspiring, and we look forward to continuing our work together on future projects that will further address our County’s housing needs.”
In South Miami-Dade
Quail Roost Station is a six-phase redevelopment plan alongside the Bus Rapid Transit busway parallel to U.S. 1. Approved by the county commission WHEN, it is supposed to be an example transit oriented development for seniors. It is connected via a covered walkway to the brand-new BRT station on Southwest 184th Street, one of the new 14 BRT stations along the South Dade TransitWay, where service is scheduled to start this summer. Phase one is done and phase two broke ground in August 2024 with expected completion by end of this year.
Located on approximately 2.3 or 8.5 acres on SW 184th Street, just west of U.S. 1, Quail Roost Station, at 18505 Homestead Ave., will eventually provide 200 units for seniors and their families. According to a Miami-Dade County press release, there will be 33 studios, 132 one-bedrooms, 23 two-bedrooms, 8 three-bedrooms, 3 four-bedrooms, and 1 five-bedroom apartments. The property features a community room, business center, fitness center, and on-site laundry facilities.
There may also be adult literacy classes, employment assistance, and financial management program classes will also be offered to residents on site.
All affordable housing units are set at 22% to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). That means that rental prices, today, would range from $737 – $2,065.
Studies have consistently shown that residents of affordable and workforce housing use public transit at a higher rate than the general population.
“With this transit-oriented community, we are not just building a structure, we’re building a future that honors our older adults,” Levine Cava said in a statement when the county broke ground last August. “Quail Roost Station will stand as a testament to our commitment to creating spaces where older adults can thrive, and where accessibility, connection, and care come together.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Commissioner Kionne McGhee at last year’s groundbreaking for Quail Roost Station.
“This is more than just a development. It’s a promise to support and enrich the lives of those who have laid the foundation for our community,” Levine Cava said.
McGhee, who was not an early fan of BRT, could not be reached for comment.
Read related: Kionne McGhee pulls the brakes on Miami-Dade BRT for South corridor
Miami-based Atlantic Pacific Communities has a deal to lease the site from, the county, which in 2020 approved $5 million in monies from the Documentary Stamp Surtax Program, named for the stamp of approval applied to local property transfers.
“Quail Roost Station is another signal that transit-oriented communities, which are also affordable communities, are on the rise and very much needed,” said Kenneth Naylor, president of development for Atlantic Pacific Communities, in a statement.
In the city of Homestead
Homestead Gardens Phase I apartments will consist of 162 residences at 1542 SW 4th Street, where the old Homestead Gardens (or Gardens of Homestead)  is now. Half the units are under the RAD program, which replaces existing public housing units one-for-one with Section 8 “project-based voucher units meant for returning public housing residents and qualifying residents with incomes of 30% and 50% of the AMI in Miami-Dade County. The other half will be affordable and mixed-income housing units.
This residential community, expected to open by the end of 2026, will be built with sustainable materials and systems and will be green certified. Amenities will include a community room for residents — which will have a heating kitchen — a gym, bicycle storage room, outdoor playground and community gardens. All apartments will include central air conditioning systems and washer and dryers.
What? No podcast studio?
This project is the first of three phases that Miami-Dade County and DBC Procida are working on to redevelop the 150 units of Miami-Dade County managed affordable public housing located at the existing Homestead Gardens campus. These photos show the old, outdated complex and the new, modern one.

Homestead Gardens got $2 million from county surtax funding and $2 million from the county HOME program funds. The project also includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity sourced through National Equity Fund, a construction loan from Bank of America, and Freddie Mac permanent financing through Greystone.
Elsewhere in Miami-Dade
Platform 3750 is at 3750 South Dixie Highway, on 2.1 acres leased from the county near the Douglas Road Metrorail Station. Developed by Hollywood-based Cornerstone Group and its partners, it has 113 market rate and 78 affordable apartments, 222,950 square feet of retail space, and 27,500 square feet of office space. It is eight stories tall and includes a pedestrian bridge to the Metrorail station. Amenities also include a rooftop pool and an interior drop off area, an on-site Aldi and an on-site Starbuck’s. Commissioners approved giving that project $6.5 million from the county’s surtax dollars.
District 7 has added 850 affordable housing units to the inventory in the last four years, said Commissioner Raquel Regalado. Another 800 or so have been or are being rehabilitated. “We all know that it’s getting more difficult of rising land costs, rising labor costs and construction materials,” Regalado said. “But ensuring families have access to safe, stable, and affordable homes is key to strengthening our community.”

Metro Grande III Apartments, located at 2005 West Okeechobee Road, near the Okeechobee Metrorail Station in Hialeah, has 202 senior housing units, 84 workforce housing units and 3,189 square feet of retail. Cornerstone Group also leased this property from the county, which committed $2 million from the surtax monies to fund it. Miami-Dade has wanted to turn this 1.5 acres into housing for more than two decades.
These projects not only address the housing crisis in Miami-Dade, officials say, they are also offering commercial and community space that address the needs of the area’s residents.

Read Full Story

Everybody knew the veto was coming, even before it was announced.
In the days before her deadline Friday to veto a measure passed by the commission to stop adding fluoride to the county’s tap water, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (1) assembled a group of pro-fluoride dentists and medical experts and parents to provide a recommendation and (2) had her political team conduct a poll that showed a majority of residents support the fluoridation of our water.
It was like she was making a case, gathering the evidence she needed to prove her point, which is that fluoride, in small doses, is not harmful and actually better for public health by providing dental protection across the board to communities that maybe can’t afford good preventative care.
“This is not a decision that I take lightly,” Levine Cava said Friday, at a press conference against a wall of white lab coats, or medical experts, and parents supporting her position. “Water fluoridation at low levels is a safe and effective way of preventing tooth decay. Halting it could have long term and wide reaching health consequences, especially for our most vulnerable families.
“The science is very clear,” Levine Cava added. “The decision to stop adding fluoride to Miami-Dade’s water ignores the guidance of dentists and medical experts who are overwhelmingly trusted by our residents on this issue.”
Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez — who sponsored the measure, which passed 8-2 on April 1 — would need nine of the 13 commissioners to overturn the veto, if all the same show up. That means Levine Cava is counting on the three who were absent — apparently, they stepped off the dais — to agree with her on fluoridation. Or maybe someone who voted for the resolution will be swayed by the overwhelming evidence she laid out.

The press conference was still in full swing when Gonzalez posted his reaction on social media, urging his colleagues to ignore the mayor’s case, titled “Commissioners take bipartisan bold step forward, mayor hits the brakes.”
Cute.
“I want to commend my colleagues on the county commission for coming together as pubic servants in a bipartisan, wide margin vote to ut pubic health above partisan politics. Unfortunately, our mayor has not done the same,” Gonzalez said in his post.
Read related: Miami-Dade taxpayers fund $1 mil move for Commissioner Rob Gonzalez
“By vetoing this bipartisan resolution, our mayor is acting like a typical politician, relying on partisan pollsters and tired talking points while putting people’s health at risk, especially pregnant women, infants, children and other vulnerable groups,” Gonzalez added. “Removing fluoride from our drinking water has received overwhelming scientific and public support including from state to national levels of government.”
Well, who’s making it partisan? That’s right: This move of his is coming on the heels of Republican sponsored bills in Florida that would eliminate fluoride in the water statewide.
Fluoride is a component of fluorine, one of the top 20 most common elements on the surface of the Earth. It has been added to the county’s water since 1958, according to local, state and national standards, to help prevent tooth decay and strengthen enamel, especially among children. Gonzalez and those who support the resolution say that was before it was added to toothpaste and that studies since have shown it poses health risks, such as a lower IQ.
But local health leaders and national medical groups, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, say fluoride in low levels, such as the 0.7 miligrams per liter in Miami-Dade tap water — which is the amount recommended by the American Dental Assocation — is safe and effective in reducing dental problems.
The studies that indicated issues used levels that were twice as high, said Levine Cava, who cited other cities that experienced an increase in cavities and other dental issues after fluoride was removed, including Buffalo, NY, where officials had to add fluoride back to the water after a class action lawsuit that may cost taxpayers $160 million. Other ramifications, she said, include children missing school because of tooth pain, parents missing work and families “facing additional financial strain.”
To make matters worse, the decision to take the fluoride out of the drinking water within 30 days followed a “hasty process,” Levine Cava said.
“There was no committee hearing, there was no real chance for residents and experts on both sides to weigh in,” she said. “A decision that affects every person who turns on their tap in Miami-Dade County should only happen after meaning input from our residents and experts.”
At Friday’s press conference, Levine Cava had local dentist Beatriz Terrry, immediate past president of the Florida Dental Association, who basically stole the show when she spoke about the benefits of having fluoride in the water and what she called a “fluoridation disparity” that would be created if it were removed.

“Water fluoridation is critically important to the dental health of our community,” Terry said. “Fluoride in our water helps strengthen enamel, preventing and resisting decay.
“Water fluoridation is a public health measure that benefits everyone, regardless of age, income, education or access to dental care. It especially helps our underserved populations who may not be able to afford regular dental visits, fluoride treatments or even fluoridated toothpaste,” Terry said. “I’ve heard that discussion, people can purchase fluoridated toothpaste and solve the problem, but not everybody can buy fluoridated toothpaste.”
“As a 30-year practicing dentist, I never thought this was an issue we would have to tackle,” she said, adding that she would advocate for new studies to help bring more focus on the facts. “Some of this research is very old because this is a no-brainer, right? But in the interim, we need to keep it in the water.”
Read related: Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins could join Miami Mayor’s race
We can believe the dentist — who is married to a dentist and has three kids — because she is advocating against her own personal self interest. “If we took it out of the water, I would be in business for a long time,” Terry joked. No, but it’s true. She also said that she has treated people who grew up without fluoridated water who have had issues with tooth decay.
Also, by the way, she is a Republican super voter. So, she’s not making it partisan.
According to the poll, conducted by Edge Communications (political consultant Christian Ulvert‘s firm), most Miami-Dade residents strongly support or somewhat support the status quo, or adding fluoride to the water. It also shows that residents trusts dentists over politicians — well, duh — and that Levine Cava is the “most trusted public official” among a number of national figures and, inexplicably, The Miami Herald (which scored a lower approval rating than Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., btw). Also interesting: Nobody knows quien carajo Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado is.
Lapado is supporting legislation that would take fluoride out of tap water statewide anyway, which might make this moot.

Read Full Story