We don't fit into Ileana's agenda
It's nice to see that US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has finally gotten off her ass regarding the post office mess. It only took seven months.Guess she finally sees the writing on the wall and I don't mean the post office graffiti. Guess she knows she is on her way out like the Diaz-Balart brothers and the rest of the politicians who only take care of their own selfish agendas.
They remind me of the three monkeys -- see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. If it doesn't concern Cuba, they don't want to be bothered.
Maybe in their retirement they'll all finally get a clue. Maybe when Cuba opens up, they can be the first to move there since they are so obsessed with it to the point of shirking their real duties in the county.
Graphic by Harry Emilio Gottlieb
posted by Tom Falco at 11:12 AM
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16 Comments:
What do you expect? We live in a "Cuban colony" and guess what they are such lackeys of the GOP and the PCC at the same time that they WILL get re-elected AGAIN and AGAIN in the mock elections we hold in this "colony". As long as there is the make believe tension between the US and the Cuban government there will be such demagogues who will take advantage of the people's stupidity for the sake of "freedom". And freedom for them stands for their freedom to do whatever they want with the people's taxes and rights in this "colony".
I agree with you Grapevine, but who credibly can run against them?
I'm baffled (if I spelled that right).
Grape, sometimes your a real asshole. Republican "agendas" are no more or less selfish than those of Democrats or any other party. I guess you just assume that there are no Republicans in the Grove?
I don't care if you turn this into a partisan blog -- that's your prerogative. But please, spare us the ad hominem type attacks. If you have a specific criticism, then have at it.
"your" = "you're"
True, it should have said: "and the rest of the POLITICIANS who only take care of their own selfish agendas." Sorry about that.
maria:
Yes, you got me. I've never, ever seen a Democrat use foul language in a blog post. Never. And no, I've never, ever been called an "a**hole" by a woman in Miami. Never happened.
What that has to do with the suggestion that Republicans are selfish? I have no idea.
Grape:
Appreciated. Sorry for being so blunt.
I think we are absolutely screwed in this ocassion.
On the far right, a completely sold out and ineffectual Ileana Ross Lehtinen who is beholden to all the special interests and, especially, the Cuban interests.
On the fake left, Annette Tadeo, who in her short stint as president of the Atlantis Condominium on Brickell managed to almost ruin the building, stole hundreds of thousands from a special assessment (which had to be reassessed again), ran a highly innefectual staff of about 19 in the worst possible way AND left such a mess she had to move out.
OY VEY!
The only positive thing Cuba contributes to the earth is breaking up hurricanes on their way to the USA.
A Liar is a Liar is a Liar
In my post "Where's the Outrage?" the Herald's June 5 web article on Mr. Sarnoff's letter complaining to Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen about the state of the Grand Avenue post office was discussed. In particular, Mr. Sarnoff's request that the postal service consider selling the site to the city was appalling to me in light of all the other needs for capital investment in his district.
Mr. Sarnoff said in the letter to an aide to the Congresswoman, "In this election year, we do look for Ileana's leadership on either bringing forth a new post office or in the alternative, closing this post office and making the land available to the city so that we can act in the best interest of the Grove residents."
The print version of the article was dramatically different from the web posting. And in the print version we found out why Mr. Sarnoff is interested in the city buying the site - for a parking garage! Is that true? Did Mr. Sarnoff lie to us again? Did he try to cover his charade by sending a nasty letter to a U.S. Congresswoman? Is he taking care of his friends by pushing for a parking garage at the Grand Avenue post office site?
The Herald article indicates that a plan to acquire the post office site has been in the works for a while. Mr. Sarnoff is chairman of the Grove Business Improvement Committee (BIC). David Collins, Master of Ceremonies for Mr. Sarnoff's swearing in ceremonies and campaign contributor, runs the BIC in return for a hefty salary. He has pushed for a parking garage nearer to Greenstreets. Sylvano Bignon, the owner of Greenstreets, is a close friend and political contributor to Mr. Sarnoff, sits on the BIC Board and orchestrated Collins' sweetheart job at the BIC. The BIC has been managed for years, not by the city, but by the Miami Parking Authority (MPA).
When David Collins gushed about the prospect of a parking garage on the post office site, my curiosity was aroused. And when the article said that the Miami Parking Authority has already commenced a feasibility study for erecting a parking garage on the site, I got curiouser. Greenstreets (Sylvano Bignon) has wanted a parking garage close to its business for years - a move that the MPA has resisted since its other Grove parking garages have lost money since they were built because they are almost never fully utilized. When Art Noriega of the MPA says the US Postal Service is aware of the study, I can't let it go.
Greenstreets' candidate becomes commissioner. And as a favor to his friend, Mr. Sarnoff pushes for garage more suited to helping his contributor's business. Could that be what is happening?
Can't be. To quote the article, Mr. Sarnoff, in addressing whether such a plan is underway, said "This just isn't the truth. It's not even close to the truth."
Well, the history of Mr. Sarnoff's truth telling is, to say the least, horrible. We know he lied about having a famous grandfather, General David Sarnoff, president of RCA for years and considered the father of modern communications. General Sarnoff's family NEVER heard of Mr. Marc Sarnoff of Coconut Grove. Sarnoff lied about the support that he got from Joe Arriola in his 2006 campaign - Arriola has now admitted on the record that he did give financial support to Sarnoff. We suspect Sarnoff has other ties to cover up since he gave nearly $300,000 of $335,000 of the funds spent in his last campaign to a company owned by a city firefighter and who is that company's only employee - who did the firefighter pay? But just because Sarnoff lied in the past will he lie again?
Why guess about it? Maybe he's turned a new leaf and realizes lying is wrong. Let's take a look at the public records.
In the MPA's verbatim minutes from its March 5, 2008 board meeting. Art Noriega reports (emphasis added):
"We're doing the analysis based on two assumptions: One is the existing parking lot footprint that exists now, which is just solely the governmental piece. And then I had them do an alternate, which is to expand the footprint to the east to take that small little retail (sic), which includes the convenience store and the Subway and all that. And that was as the request of the Commissioner who asked me to sort of look into that, partly because it would really clean everything up from all the way from MacDonald in."
So Mr. Sarnoff lied to the Herald. He is caught in another lie. Are you surprised? So I say, Mr. Sarnoff, you lied. You did not even come close to telling the truth.
So a parking structure is being planned for the post office site. Another project for the Grove and god knows how much money.
This plan is in place despite the fact that MPA's Grove parking garages are losing money. Just before the quote above, Noriega tells the MPA board, "The Grove isn't doing substantially good in any way. So, I mean, it is what it is, that's the market."
Mr. Sarnoff knows he will be criticized because, at his request, the construction of a surface lot on the site has been delayed and people are getting irritated with the mess. At his request, the Post Office has delayed maintenance on its building because it will get knocked down if the city buys it. He also knows that some people will be upset because there are other parts of his district, other than "THE GROVE" that could use attention from the MPA. So he lies.
But most of all, Mr. Sarnoff does not want everyone to know that he wants to use millions of dollars of city funds to take care of his friends. I wonder what he will expect in return some day.
A liar is a liar is a liar. I, for one, don't believe anything that comes out of Sarnoff's mouth. My feelings have been vindicated. Maybe the folks at the Herald will catch on to that some day. At least New Times has caught on.
P.S. I apologize to you, Art Noriega, for quoting your board statements. I'm afraid Mr. Sarnoff will be giving you some crap over this. Stay strong. Others have survived it .... it's good to tell the truth.
www.investigativemiami.blogspot.com
Hey thanks, Brent. Good to have the venomous spittle of a poisonous toad and you never let us down.
Wow! I never realized this blog was so "anti-cuban" and had so much hatred. Unbelievable, and I'm actually very disappointed. Sorry Grape, but I don't think I can read this type of blog anymore. I really just read it b/c I live in the Grove and wanted to know what was going on but this is ridiculous and insulting!
Sorry to see you go, but this is not about all Cubans or about long-suffering Cuba, which I love, it is about three selfish politicians who only look out to sea, turning their backs on their Miami home. Everything they do is for Cuba, nothing they do is for the US. It's a fact. Look up their record.
To the the last anonymous commenter, don't put yourself in Ileana's shoes and act all offended. You know that Grape is not against all Cubans, he mentions three people in particular who do have a sketchy agenda. I am Cuban and not offended. I guess you won't be back to read this but if you do, please take a chill pill. You sound more stupid than the politicians.
Grape is not anti-Cuban and I think anyone who thinks he is is anti-American. So there.
CCG: It's typical of Cuban-American hardliners to characterize any type of criticism of a CA as racist. Relax, it's just their way of saying something when they have nothing else to say.
But make sure you listen to swlip about partisan blogs. It's a subject that he is reeeaaaaal familiar with, although these days his has pretty much dried up and blown away.
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BENT CUTLER SHOULD GET A LIFE INSTEAD OF BEING A GHOST WRITER FOR ONE OF THE CANDIDATES THAT RAN AGAINST MARC SARNOFF IN THE LAST ELECTION AND IS NOW SPEWING SOUR GRAPES.
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