Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, who was first appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and then elected for the first time last year, will host the county’s first ever “Faith and Family Festival” Saturday on the Youth Fair grounds.
The free event will include fun activities for the whole family: live music, basketball tournaments, bounce houses, a talent show, face painting, a petting zoo, and a special guest speaker. There will also be a food distribution to 2,000 families in need and representatives from county and state agencies for assistance will be available, according to the press release.
“The event is open to people of all faiths,” says a press release from the District 11 office.
There goes separation of church and state.
“We’re about to do something that has never been done before,” Gonzalez says in an Instagram post last week. “Doesn’t matter what faith you have, c’mon down. We’re going to pray for Miami-Dade together.”
Roly Gonzalez of Share Your Heart and Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez talk about the Faith & Family Festival.
Um, there might be a reason it’s never been done before. It’s inappropriate and seems a clear violation of the separation of church and state that is one of the pillars of the U.S. democratic government system. Are we dismantling that, too?
A big fan of Donald Trump — as evident by his social media posts, which also include bible verses and quotes from the Old Testament — Gonzalez may not be a big fan of the constitution. He recently responded with an “amen” to Trump’s post about bringing religion back to America.
David Gonzalez, his communications chief, stressed that the event was open to everyone. “It’s about bringing folks together of all faiths,” he said. “It’s interfaith. It’s not just one faith pushing an agenda.”
Really? Because Ladra will bet you’ll be hard pressed to find a Muslim there.
Read related: Kendall residents oppose early talks for development of waste transfer facility
David Gonzalez, who is no relation to the commissioner, said there’s already some crossover of religion in county government.
“Isn’t it already there? We pray at the beginning of commission meetings,” he said.”There’s a seal above [the commission dais] that says ‘In God we Trust.’”
Gonzalez ran in 2022 for State House in District 119 because God told him to, he said then. But the Guatemalan-born personal injury attorney’s platform was more in hardline with the  GOP than it was with any heavenly body. He lost in the primary to Juan Carlos Porras, but raised $110,000 for the bid, according to his campaign reports, which is a lot for a newbie.
Two months after the loss, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to the county commission to replace former Commissioner Joe Martinez, who was suspended after he was arrested on public corruption charges of conspiracy and unlawful compensation. Martinez was convicted in November, but his attorneys last month asked for a new trial (more on that later). Las malas lenguas say the appointment was a reward to then Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nuñez, now the president at Florida International University (I know!) and the campaign consultant she shared with Gonzalez, David “Disgustin’ Custin.”
Then, after serving as an appointment for two years, Gonzalez was elected for the first time last August with 57% of the vote against two lesser known candidates (but Bryan Paz-Hernandez got 26%, which is not bad for a newbie so we’ll hear from him again).
The festival was timed for the first Saturday after the National Day of Prayer May 1. There will be vendors and food trucks who pay for the privilege to be there, but all those proceeds, after expenses, will go to Share Your Heart, a non-profit program that is part of another non-profit, The Victory for Youth, that “recruits, trains, and screens caring adults who desire to serve their community in meaningful ways as a volunteer chaplain” and partners with government agencies and non-profit organizations to “respond to referrals for children, families, and vulnerable adults who have been identified as in crisis or distress,” according to the group’s website.
Read related: Miami-Dade taxpayers fund $1 mil move for Commissioner Rob Gonzalez
It’s not the same as Jar of Hearts, the non-profit that used to be represented by Gonzalez and then got a $10,000 county allocation two months after he was appointed. This is a different non-profit. Just sounds the same.
David Gonzalez likened the event to the Hometown Heroes Parade and Festival that Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins has in District 8 in the Fall or the annual CountryFest that Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez has at Tropical Park.
But it’s really not the same.
The Faith and Family Festival is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the Miami-Dade Fair & Expo Center, 11201 SW 24th St. Don’t know what time is the prayer circle for Miami-Dade.

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There’s a new battle potentially brewing between residents and the county government over a possible new waste facility — and, no, its not the will-they-or-won’t-they incinerator to replace the one that burned down in Doral.
A storage company with a 5-acre property in West Kendall wants county approval of a zoning change to build a waste transfer station off Southwest 136th Street and 127th Avenue — and residents nearby are, predictably, up in arms. They hope that, because the site is less than two miles from Miami Executive Airport (formerly Kendall Tamiami Airport), the federal government’s regulations will stop it.
But that didn’t work so well for the Miami residents who were against Miami Freedom Park, the mega real estate complex which is just a soccer kick from Miami International Airport (even though the issues are different). So they are organizing and trying to fight the proposal.
Read related: As Miami-Dade stalls again on incinerator, state legislators take it on
Secure Storage of Miami, Inc., owned by Jorge Pernas and Delfin Pernas, according to Florida Division of Corporation records, has a zoning application at the county to change the zoning from IU-C (industrial conditional) to IU-3 (industrial unlimited), which would apparently allow for the waste holding facility near several residential communities and next to an existing railway for trains to ship the garbage to landfills in the north. Miami-Dade has been increasingly shipping our solid waste in trains and will do so for the foreseeable future as the commission decides where and how — and even if — to rebuild the waste-to-energy incinerator destroyed in a fire more than two years ago.
Secure Storage purchased the West Kendall property in 1980 for $125,000. Today, the property — which looks like it is being used as a storage lot for trucks and construction or industrial equipment — has an assessed value of $464,000 and a market value of $1.4 million.
That would likely go up a lot if the property’s zoning is changed.
The proposal went before the county’s Community Council 11 on March 24 and was unanimously denied. But the property owner has appealed that decision, and the application is going through the county’s Regulatory and Economic Resources Department for review. It could end up back before the community council — it was denied without prejudice — or in front of the county commission for an appeal of their decision.
The letter of intent sent to the county by the applicant’s attorney in January does not state what they plan to do with the property if the zoning change is approved. Seems sneaky. Because a report on a “cursory review” by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, dated April 14, says the intent rather clearly.
“While there are no plans associated with the zoning hearing request, according to RER’s Staff Report to Community Council No. 11, the applicant is seeking a zone change to IU-3 in order to operate a solid waste transfer facility, with the transfer being conducted to rail cars for outbound transportation,” Ammad Riaz, chief of aviation planning, wrote to RER Development Services Assistant Director Eric Silva.
Riaz also said that property is within the airport’s “critical approach zone” and the applicant needs a determination from the Federal Aviation Administration, which can take up to four months. He also said that one of the prohibited uses is “landfills…and any associated uses that attract or sustain birds and bird movements.”
That’s one of the worries residents have, as well. “These type of facilities attract birds and can cause plane accidents,” said Julio Forte, who lives in nearby Venezia Lakes. “Think of the catastrophe we could have on the ground.”
It’s not that far-fetched, considering all the aircraft accidents that there have been lately.
“This site will bring a foul smell, health hazards, and will lower our property values as no one will want to live near a waste station,” Forte said. Other residents who have expressed concern live in Three Lakes, Azzura, Courts at Tuscany and Caribe at Bonita Lakes, among others.
Many have health concerns.
“The Environmental Protection Agency, the Urban Institute, the National Institute of Health, they all have studies that say these things produce chemicals that lead to respiratory problems, asthma, birth defects, heavy metal poisoning,” Forte told Political Cortadito. “This is a well-established community and we’ve been here for over 20 years. Nobody moved here to have a dump site next door and be exposed to all those things.”
Forte, who also says there are 18 schools within a five mile radius, says it is more egregious than the rebuilding the incinerator in Doral — which has gotten major resistance — because that was there before the nearby homes were built and bought. “But we were here first,” said Forte, who has taken to social media to get his neighbors to help him “prevent this project from being built.”
So has Maria Teresa Acevedo, the owner at Pacheco International Realty and a resident of the Three Lakes neighborhood. She is worried about the potential contamination of Three Lakes and the endangerment of local wildlife. Zoo Miami is also nearby, she said. And there will also be increased noise, pollution, industrial activity, heavy truck traffic and road safety issues on streets that are not designed for industrial use.
“This site was never part of the original proposal and was suddenly introduced, leaving residents uninformed and out of the decision-making process,” Acevedo said. She and Forte have urged their neighbors to write emails to Miami-Dade Commissioners Kionne McGhee, whose district the property is in, Roberto Gonzalez, whose district includes the airport, and Raquel Regalado, who has constituents who live nearby.
Forte said the only way the neighbors learned about it was because someone saw a sign leaning over on the corner of 127th. “Nobody in the surrounding community knew about it.”
Lack of notice and outreach to residents was the main reason the community council denied the zoning change request, said Cristhian Mancera, chairman of the Community Council No. 11. “There was no time to study the impact,” Mancera said. “We were unanimous against it because of the concerns from the community. So they can meet with residents.
“These people bought their homes, some for $500,000, and now they’re going to have a garbage warehouse there?”
He said the applicant’s multiple attorneys promised a fence and air fresheners to mitigate the stench — really? How many rearview mirror hanging Christmas trees would they need for that? — but seemed to act as if the council didn’t matter and the zoning change was a foregone conclusion.
“There was no commitment to listen or pay attention to the community,” Mancera told Political Cortadito. “Their answer was, ‘Why meet with those folks?’”‘
Read related: Op Ed by KFHA’s Michael Rosenberg: ‘Kendall Talk!’ makes Kendall strong
The denial has given the community time to organize.
Three out of every four people who attended the Kendall Talk! town hall Tuesday hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations earlier this month were there to hear and talk about the waste transfer station proposal, said KFHA President Michael Rosenberg. “They don’t want a garbage dump in front of their house,” he said.
Among the people in the standing-room-only crowd, was a staffer with the office of Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez. He may have known this topic was going to come up. He calls the county airport in his district “my airport” on occasion. Or she could have been there to hear what people had to say about fluoride in the water.
David Gonzalez, the commissioner’s communications director, said that there had been some emails sent to the district, but that the commissioner could not talk about it with any resident because of the Jennings Rule, which prohibits ex-parte communications by electeds on quasi-judicial matters, like a zoning change.
Calls to Kionne McGhee and his chief of staff were not returned. Deputy Chief of Staff Janie Olvera told Ladra she didn’t know anything about a waste transfer station.
But commissioners will likely hear about it soon, during public comments. Forte said he and a large group of neighbors are ready to go to whatever meeting when the appeal will be heard — to fight it.
“This is just bad for everybody, all concerned,” he told Political Cortadito. “It’s criminal that they would even consider putting a site like this in the middle of a community.”

If you like reading about land use and zoning issues in Miami-Dade County, please consider making a contribution to Political Cortadito and helping independent government watchdog journalism continue. And thank you for your support!

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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.

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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.

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Let’s thank the Miami Foundation for having and recording a series of forums this month with candidates for several races on the August 20 ballot — and posting them on their website for all voters to see. We are lucky that they think it’s important. It is part of the Vote Miami awareness initiative to increase voter participation, after a 47% turnout in the 2022 election.

They stressed that the forums, which are about an hour long each, were not debates — which is too bad. Ladra misses real debates. But we have to applaud the use of the mute button when the candidates’ time was up. Wish we could do that to sitting electeds.

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The incumbent has abused his office too much

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