Where is the "City Beautiful"

January 7, 2007 Leave a comment

Miami Today reports on the possible conflict among the “Cities’ Beautiful”:

Orlando’s application to federally trademark longtime slogan The City Beautiful is in the initial stages of approval, leaving Coral Gables, which also uses the name, about a month to negotiate shared usage before a formal objection period begins.
Coral Gables, which has called itself The City Beautiful since the 1930s, also was seeking the trademark but applied almost two months after Orlando filed its application.
The cities, officials say, will work together for shared use of the name.
“We’re now negotiating a joint-use agreement so everybody wins,” said David Brown, Coral Gables city manager.
City attorney Elizabeth Hernandez said lodging an official objection is Plan B.
“The cities are working to get the benefit of the usage of the names,” she said in an e-mail.Ý”Unless we come to agreement, we will object to each other’s applications.ÝI know we are all working toward resolution of this matter.”Ý
Attorney David Rogero, handling the process for Coral Gables, said representatives of both cities will begin negotiations soon for concurrent use of the slogan.

Filed under Coral Gables

Spitzter’s Government Reforms: Dare Miami-Dade Commissioners Take Note

January 1, 2007 Leave a comment

A first step of the new governor of New York was to institute clear steps toward establishing honest government. Would it be that both state, county and local governments take the same interest in good, ethical and open government. One can only hope that Spitzer is successful and that other states learn from this challenge and be driven to change.

Spitzer enacted measures to limit political consideration and mandate ethical behavior by employees of the executive branch.They ban gifts from lobbyists; end personal use of state cars, computers and equipment; prohibit nepotismand ban ex-employees hired by the Spitzer administration from lobbying the executive branch for two years.

Other executive orders ban statewide officials _ including Spitzer _ from appearing in state-paid commercials _ stopping a practice expanded greatly under Republican Governor Pataki, which critics called free campaign ads.

Another measure established a state commission to make sure candidates for judicial appointments are qualified. Yet another order requires many public meetings to soon be broadcast.

Filed under Coral Gables, Florida, Government, Miami

Coral Gables Building and Zoning Study

December 29, 2006 Leave a comment

As reported in the Miami Herald, Coral Gables management is undertaking a two part study of the Building and Zoning Department. This department faces constant grumbling from individual home owners who are doing small projects and often face very inflexible, time consuming procedures and some unfriendly, indifferent and aggressive employees; and complaints from medium and larger developers who also suffer slow procedures in understaffed areas such as structural review. One B & Z employee has been charged for apparent grand theft and fraud, while the director of the unit is on paid administrative leave and has been rumored to being negotiating her retirement. Coral Gables did a study of the department a few years ago and a very substantial reorganization was recommended therein but has not instituted by the City. It is hoped that the issues of that study will come out in this new effort and that the deep organizational changes will be made to the benefit of all citizens.

Coral Gables next month officially will start an in-depth study of the city’s troubled building and zoning department.

The data gathering begins in January when a consultant will conduct
three focus groups — one each with residents, contractors and staff —
to learn how the city provides its services and where it falls short.

The consultant is Marily Rodriguez of Bal Harbour, who has 10 years of experience with this kind of work…

Filed under Coral Gables

DOT in Miami-Dade Procurement Problems

December 22, 2006 Leave a comment

Just a small demonstration of the difference between sloppy public procurement and administration of contracts in one office of the DOT and work well done another one.

Dozens of electronic message signs hang underused or in complete darkness over Interstates 75, 95 and 195 in Miami-Dade County and along U.S. 1 and Card Sound Road in the Keys.

Tattered green garbage bags cover 22 traffic signals on I-95 on-ramps. The ramp meters were installed in late 2004 and early last year, but they won’t be turned on until late next year.

The dark signs and bagged meters are a sore reminder of how technology was supposed to ease congestion on South Florida’s highway network by providing real-time traffic information and regulating traffic flow.

But two brutal hurricane seasons, unforeseen technological glitches and a prominent contractor’s failure to deliver on time contributed to Miami-Dade and Monroe’s problems, according to Florida Department of Transportation officials and records.

”I understand why people are so frustrated,” said Rory Santana, who supervises the technology program for the DOT district serving Miami-Dade and Monroe. “They see the signs and the [ramp meter] signal heads out there, and they assume they should be up and running.”

In Broward, drivers on Florida’s Turnpike, the Sawgrass Expressway, and Interstates 595 and 95 have been receiving markedly more information from overhead message boards that have been deployed since 2002.

That’s largely because the Broward FDOT district procured most of the signs now operating in one large bundle in 2002. The Miami office has been acquiring them contract by contract since 1999.

Filed under Government, Miami-Dade County

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