Pink Snails arrive for Mayor’s Election Campaign

January 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Certainly, this must be an attraction ordered up by the mayor and the city to entertain us during a most exciting election campaign.  Perhaps the snails will be seen going from door to door asking for your votes.  You will see your favorite candidates kissing a snail.  The green commission of Coral Gables will laud the recycling of plastic into an even less useful purpose.

Clearly, this is a part of the mayor’s election campaign for reelection and his campaign platform–to

“Focus on the development and promotion of cultural assets...”

Yes indeed, these snails are a great representation of government and politics in Coral Gables.

The snails — 11-feet long and painted in a hue of hot pink — will be installed throughout the Gables. Among their habitats: two in Merrick Park near City Hall, four near the youth center and library and two in Ponce Circle Park. They will be therefor two months.

via Pink snails find more pleasant home in Coral Gables – Coral Gables – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Coral Gables

Future of Economy according to Fed

January 15, 2011 Leave a comment

This is good news and bad news for Coral Gables.  The housing recession will continue unabated so property values are not going anywhere.  The city will be under pressure to increase taxes, no doubt.  Growth may increase the income and assets of the wealthy, and that will help the to 15 percent of so of our residents.  The retail district may see a slow increase in sales. All in all, the outlook for several years is not bright.   Any attempt to reduce federal spending will have a bad impact on the economy–stimulus is still needed.

The U.S. economy will expand at a 3.5 percent to 4 percent rate during 2011, as it is “increasingly supported by private spending,” Rosengren said in his prepared comments. Growth won’t top 4 percent because the housing market’s recovery is likely to be weaker than usual, given the tightening of lending standards and high vacancy rates, according to Rosengren.

“If housing-related growth is not going to boost the recovery this time around, we may need policy — particularly monetary policy — to continue playing a stimulative role,” said Rosengren, who doesn’t vote on monetary policy this year.

Growth of 4 percent would still leave the unemployment rate close to 9 percent at the end of 2011, a level that’s “far above anyone’s estimate of full employment,” Rosengren said.

via Rosengren Says Stimulus Needed to Lower Jobless Rate (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy, National

“Trust” in Trust Funds: Test Literacy of the Police

January 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Another reason to fire the mayor and another saga in incompetent local government.

And some Miami-Dade police should be given a literacy test.

…the police department is flatly rebuffing two IG recommendations: that it stop using green-fund money to pay expenses such as monthly cellphone and aircard bills, and that it repay the misused public dollars.

“We continue to stand by our original recommendations that the Trust Funds be reimbursed,” Mazzella said in a Dec. 21 memo to Alvarez.

via Miami-Dade police refuse to pay back misspent environmental funds – Miami-Dade – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Miami-Dade County

I Wonder Where Miami Stands on Traffic Stress

January 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Imagine, New York and Los Angeles are towards the middle of the ranking.  I would think that Miami is in the “Los Angles” range of stress and getting better with the real estate bust and the net outflow of people from Florida.

The daily commute in some of the world’s most economically important international cities is longer and more grueling than before imagined, reflecting the failure of transportation infrastructure to keep pace with economic activity, according to IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) first global Commuter Pain study released today.

IBM surveyed 8,192 motorists in 20 cities on six continents, the majority of whom say that traffic has gotten worse in the past three years. The congestion in many of today’s developing cities is a relatively recent phenomenon, having paralleled the rapid economic growth of those cities during the past decade or two. By contrast, the traffic in places like New York, Los Angeles or London has developed gradually over many decades, giving officials more time and resources to address the problem.

via IBM Press room – 2010-06-30 IBM Global Commuter Pain Study Reveals Traffic Crisis in Key International Cities – United States.

Filed under Miami-Dade County, Transportation

← Older posts

Newer posts →