South Florida headlines

[miamistreets]

Opa-Locka was the site where Amelia Earhart took off on her last flight.

Are you serious? I never knew that.No wonder there is an Amelia Earhart Park right here(in hialeah).

[miamistreets]

Just an informational article.

South Florida Business Journal

LATEST NEWS

March 25, 2005

Miami-Dade water ranks No. 1

Miami-Dade County has taste. In water, that is.

For the second year in a row, the county's water won the 2005 Drinking Water Taste Test. Among the communities the county beat out: the city of North Miami Beach, the city of North Miami, the Florida Keys, the city of Homestead and the city of Florida City.

As regional winner, Miami-Dade will go on to Tallahassee, April 21, for the statewide Drinking Water Taste Test.

The panel of judges for the local contest, held Wednesday at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, were Gina Romero from Channel 41, Nick Spangler with the Miami Herald and Rochelle Vayo from Miami-Dade Television. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez was the keynote speaker for the evening.

The Drinking Water Taste Test is sponsored by the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FS/AWWA) to work to educate consumers about water-related issues and raise awareness about water conservation.

Miami-Dade County's water supply undergoes testing more than 100,000 times a year to ensure compliance with federal, state and local drinking water standards. And, it appears, as a bonus, to taste pretty darn good.

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Wed, Apr. 13, 2005

LAND PRESERVATION

Bond proceeds come to an end

Broward County is spending the last of the money from a $400 million land preservation bond.

BY AMY SHERMAN

[email protected]

Less than five years after voters agreed to borrow $400 million to preserve open space, the county has nearly finished spending the money.

On Tuesday, the County Commission agreed to spend $7.5 million to help Davie, Fort Lauderdale and several other cities acquire about 76 acres throughout Broward.

As shopping malls and new housing developments gobbled up land in the 1990s, there was a public outcry to save open spaces.

POPULAR SUPPORT

In 2000, voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum to acquire open space and improve parks. Similar referendums have become increasingly popular nationwide.

Broward wanted to ensure that residents throughout the county reaped some benefit from the so-called parks bond.

Every city that asked for help preserving land in their community got some money, said Donald Burgess, the county's land preservation administrator.

When the county completes all the acquisitions, it will have preserved about 1,000 acres.

The last sites were chosen from a list recommended by the county's land preservation advisory board. The commission asked for more information on two sites in Lauderdale Lakes.

The end of the bond fund does not mean Broward County won't preserve any more open space. Some acquisitions under the bond may fall through, which would free up more money.

And the county could preserve land with money from other sources.

Davie will use the $2 million it was awarded Tuesday to help it acquire 54 acres to create a farm park.

The town is applying for other grants to purchase the property, which costs more than $11 million, Davie council member Judy Paul said. The land is owned by the family of state Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Dania Beach.

HOMAGE TO HERITAGE

Paul envisions creating a place where children can learn how to raise a goat or grow a vegetable garden.

''It's our historical roots,'' Paul said. ``Davie was begun as an agricultural community.''

On Tuesday, the County Commission also approved the $2.7 million purchase of development rights for the 16-acre Oakridge Farms, a commercial horse farm in Davie. The county won't own the land, but can prevent the owner from developing it.

The commission also agreed to spend about $1 million on a park in Southwest Ranches.

Link to article

[Aessotariq]

Hopefully this allows the denser developments to be built in the eastern cities. A good example of regional thinking and city/county cooperation.

Broward plan gives cities more leeway on housing development

By Brittany Wallman

Staff Writer

Posted April 13 2005

Broward County and its cities have forged a deal that would allow the cities to steer residential development to areas where they think it's needed.

The agreement, which still needs a vote from the Broward County Commission, would give the cities access to thousands more residential units they could pull from neighborhoods where denser development is not wanted and push into places where it is.

"I think what we're doing is really farsighted," said Commissioner Ilene Lieberman. Lieberman and other commissioners couched the measure as a way to break through to the next phase of development in a rapidly growing county, freeing up more residential units to accommodate the burgeoning population.

County Commissioner John Rodstrom disagreed, saying the notion that the county must accommodate hundreds of thousands more residents is faulty.

"We can decide to be as big as we want to be," he said. "If we want a million people here we can provide for them. And if we don't, we don't have to. ... We have a choice."

In the workshop Tuesday for the commissioners and the elected officials from the Broward League of Cities board, a majority of county commissioners made it clear they support the deal, as long as cities plan make firm plans for workforce housing and for redevelopment in long-ignored, struggling areas.

Commissioners are expected to vote on the measure in a week or two, said county Mayor Kristin Jacobs.

The proposal commissioners will vote on would let cities dismantle a decades-old system of residential "flexibility zones" that carved up the county like a jigsaw puzzle, restricting the extra residential units to the zone they were in.

Under the proposal, cities could spread available residential units throughout their boundaries or create new lines to protect some neighborhoods from new development but allow it in others.

Though the collapsing of "flex zones" sounds bureaucratic, the impact would be huge for some cities.

For Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs, an additional 5,000 units would become available to each. Hollywood has 4,510. Lauderhill has 1,660.

Jacobs predicted the deal would set off a series of mini-controversies, as each city wrangles with the question of where the extra residential density should go.

Barrier islands and western parts of the county would be restricted on how dense development could be.

The county and its cities have been warring for more than a year over who will control development. Tuesday's proposed compromise still leaves the county with the final say; each city would have to come back to the county with a map of where the extra residential units would be available and a plan for addressing impact.

Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion said he wanted assurance the cities won't overlook the working poor in their redevelopment plans.

"Let me put it in the [metaphor] of a sinking ship," he said. "We're all in the same ship. Just some of us are closer to the hole than others."

Brittany Wallman can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4541.

Link to article

[Aessotariq]

House takes cities' side in development battle

It's not clear how proposal would impact lawsuit.

By Jennifer Peltz

Staff Writer

Posted April 13 2005

In a move that could muddle a growth-control measure Palm Beach County voters OK'd in November, state legislators are talking about changing rules on counties' say in cities' growth.

The state proposal, which got a House committee's blessing Tuesday, takes the cities' side in a dispute between Palm Beach County and cities suing to overturn a referendum that gave the county authority over cities' bids to add farmland and rural neighborhoods.

The county said it would insure big-picture thinking about development.

The cities said it was meddling.

While it's not clear how the state proposal (HB 1669) would affect the lawsuit, the cities and county are watching closely.

The proposal doesn't weigh in on who should have the final say on cities' territorial ambitions.

But it takes on the issue the cities have raised in court: whether Palm Beach County was too vague about what it asked voters to approve.

The proposal applies to Palm Beach and the 18 other Florida counties that have their own charters -- essentially, local constitutions that give the counties more authority over land planning and some other activities.

State law says they can make their own rules on what's called "voluntary annexation" -- letting cities add land when residents of the affected areas agree.

The House Growth Management Committee on Tuesday approved a plan to make the counties spell out such annexation rules more specifically in their voter-approved charters.

That's exactly what Wellington, Delray Beach, West Palm Beach and Gulfstream say Palm Beach County didn't do.

Voters were asked to give county government authority over the annexation of "protection area" and "rural neighborhoods." But the ballot question didn't map out where those areas were. And it was "the worst run-on sentence I ever saw," said Rep. Rafael Arza, R-Hialeah.

He's shepherding the get-specific proposal, at the urging of Wellington and some other local governments.

"The public should be able to read, in plain language, what's being proposed," says Wellington Village Manager Charles Lynn.

But Palm Beach County officials say they tried hard to explain.

They point to public meetings, as well as mailers and advertisements that included maps and more information.

"To say that the voters had no idea what they were voting on is not fair," says county lobbyist Todd Bonlarron.

Link to article

[Aessotariq]

Suburban and rural cities should not be annexing farmland to rezone for the pupose of building acres of sprawl on them. In this particular case, I think Palm Beach County is on the right track in trying to curtail this type of haphazard growth. Each county faces different situations and should be analyzed individually...

[miamistreets]

(wasn't sure where to put it so i brought it here)

Officials of Chinese city may open trade office here

By Claudio Mendon

[miamistreets]

April 20, 2005 08:09 AM US Eastern Timezone

Miami-Dade County Leads South Florida in Job Growth; State of Florida Leading Nation

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2005--The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership, is pleased to announce that the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County in March 2005 was 4.8 percent, down from 5.7 percent in March 2004. According to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation (FAWI), the South Florida area (Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties) added more than 62,000 jobs in the 12-month period. South Florida continues to lead the State, and Florida continues to lead the nation in new job growth.

Miami-Dade County led South Florida's job growth by adding more than 23,000 jobs between March 2004 and March 2005, while Broward County added 20,900 new jobs and Palm Beach County created 18,400 new jobs during the same time period...

Full Article at:Business Wire

[miamistreets]

That trade thing with Tianjin will be great because since Tianjin is so high up there as far as in trade and doing deals.I think its going to great for Miami to be tied to anything Tianjin has to offer.

[Aessotariq]

It looks like the next language to start learning is Mandarin. With so much focus on Latin America in South Florida I never realized how extensive Miami's trade relationship is with China.

[miamistreets]

Yeah,i didnt know that either until recently.

[miamistreets]

I forgot to comment on the drop in employment rate.Its pretty impressive,'cause i thought "where are the jobs ?".The unemployment rate(4.8) is still high,but atleast its better than 5.7 percent.

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 20, 2005--The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership, is pleased to announce that the unemployment rate for Miami-Dade County in March 2005 was 4.8 percent, down from 5.7 percent in March 2004.

[Brickell]

A long and in depth look at affordable housing in Miami.

Affordable housing's economics turn poor

Affordable housing in South Florida has become too expensive to build.That's the message coming from developers, some of whom are getting out of the sector.

Cornerstone Group of Coral Gables, the nation's eighth-largest multifamily developer, won't start any new affordable housing projects.

Miami's Pinnacle Housing Group has started moving into market-rate housing and commercial development...

http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/st...ry3.html?page=1

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Thu, Apr. 28, 2005

MEDLEY

Holsum bakery to be closed

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the owner of Holsum bread, is closing its bakery in Medley and will lay off 479 employees by July 8.

BY MONICA HATCHER

[email protected]

A slice of South Florida history is coming to an end. The storied Holsum bread factory, which has filled the air of South Miami and later Medley with the smell of fresh baked bread for more than 80 years, is closing its doors.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., the factory's parent company, announced it will close the facility and lay off its staff of 479 employees by July 8.

The closure comes as Kansas City-based IBC, makers of Hostess Twinkies and other baked goods, moves to restructure and consolidate its Florida operations into fewer locations under Chapter 11 bankruptcy...

Read more: Miami Herald

This is sad... You can smell the bread baking from the Palmetto in the evenings just north of 74th street... I'll miss that.

[Urban_Legend]

Man, all those jobs being lost. That's sad indeed.

[miamistreets]

VIRGINIA KEY

Project to determine Virgina Key's future

Restaurants, ball fields, a new high school -- all are ideas being proposed for Virginia Key. A firm will draw up a plan for the area using public input.

BY MICHELLE HAMMONTREE

[email protected]

Standing on the sandy shoreline, Miami city officials Wednesday officially launched a project that will determine the future of Virginia Key and called on the public to give input.

''You are the activists. You have the passion. This is your project,'' City Manager Joe Arriola said to a crowd of about 80 people that included local residents, business owners and environmental activists. ``Don't leave it in the hands of government. Make sure we are including you.''

Public hearings will be held later this year to gather ideas for a Virginia Key master plan that is being crafted by architectural firm EDSA.

The plan is focusing on redevelopment of the Marine Stadium basin, the sewage treatment plant area and the restoration of historic Virginia Key beach park -- as well as looking at the island as a whole.

City leaders envision a public playground that families can use as a retreat or getaway -- and which would include room for commercial development like a hotel or restaurants. Arriola stressed Wednesday that the city does not envision condos being built on the property.

Full Article:Miami Herald

[Urban_Legend]

Where exactly is Virginia Key?

[miamistreets]

I was asking myself the same question when I was reading the article.I was thinking it was around by where Seaworld .

I think its Seaworld ,I get confused.

[Aessotariq]

It's an island directly south of Miami Beach. You pass through it on the way to Key Biscayne. The Miami Seaquarium is located there. The map doesn't show the Rickenbacker Causeway bridge that connects the two islands to the mainland.

[Brickell]

The article barely touched on it, but Virginia Key Beach was at one time the only beach in Miami that blacks were allowed to go to. Also home to Mast Academy, Miami Sequarium, Rosentheil School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (part of UM), Hurricane Resarch Division of NOAA, the abandoned Marine Stadium and a pretty cool bar that I forgot the name of.

[Urban_Legend]

^Wow, it sounds like a history museum would be great for this key!

[Aessotariq]

Posted on Wed, May. 04, 2005

UP FRONT | DORAL

Developers want community feeling - built by design

Doral is set for a spate of new construction that bids to remake the city, including the county's biggest example of old-style residential development.

BY MATTHEW HAGGMAN

[email protected]

For decades, when a Florida residential developer came across 200 acres of land, the plan was obvious: build a gated subdivision of cookie-cutter, single-family homes.

Now, some builders are embracing throwback neighborhoods with parks and shops -- a movement that is planned for Doral, a western Miami-Dade city that even the mayor says is a ''hodgepodge'' of industrial parks, offices, homes and a world-famous golf course.

Developer Sergio Pino, who has made millions creating gated subdivisions, wants to build a mix of 2,700 condominiums, townhomes and single-family houses along with shops, restaurants, two schools, parks and even a church. His Grand Bay project would be the largest such ''traditional neighborhood development'' in Miami-Dade County.

Read more: Miami Herald

[Urban_Legend]

^Miami is leading the way out of the dark ages of development! Different new/rebuilt communities are springing up, and they're all using smart principles of community design and layout. Naranja is doing the same, with their town center project.

[Aessotariq]

Yes, total paradigm shift. I'm looking forward to seeing more projects such as these pop up throughout Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach...

[miamistreets]

Ignoring new wage law could be costly for businesses

By Suzy Valentine

Business owners across Miami-Dade County could be exposing themselves to legal costs in tens of thousands of dollars if they disregard a $1 hike in the minimum wage taking effect statewide.

Beginning this week, workers are entitled to be paid at least $6.15 an hour subject to exemptions in certain sectors such as transportation. The rise in the statewide minimum wage from the federally mandated $5.15 follows approval in November by Florida voters.

"If an employee's underpaid by, say, $1,000," said employment attorney Andrew Rodman of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, "he or she could be compensated for the underpayment as well as receiving a further $1,000 liquidated damages - effectively double damages."

That, he said, doesn't count legal fees.

"The attorney's fees provision could leave employers liable to pay thousands more," said Mr. Rodman. "A couple of hours of legal work can equate to $1,000."

Full Article:Miami Today News