Sunday Morning Coming Down

Coral Gables does it again. Two humans living on the shore of a waterway go for a late night swim and get bitten by an American Crocodile.  According to reports by the Miami Herald there are signs warning folks about the crocodiles and not swimming in the area. Official response is that we must find the crocodile and evict him and move him to a wildlife sanctuary where both he and humans will be safe. Maybe some of this is a reaction to all the reality shows about alligators, a little research indicates that the crocodiles are a less dangerous than alligators.  I wonder how long the search for the offending crocodile will last.  He's been successful avoiding capture for a few days. This is South Florida.  Alligators get relocated all the time, or become belts, shoes, and according to some they taste like chicken. It's not like the croc invaded a Cocoplum swimming pool.  Sometimes humans are the victims of their own behavior.

Early in my work career I was chosen to serve on a Federal Grand Jury in Miami.  We really weren't called very often and when we were they were usually drug cases with video tapes of deals going down in hotels near the airport or indictments of people who were having a bad day, drank too much, and started acting out on the airplane.  Fighting with Flight Attendants or another passenger can be dangerous.  Given how crowded planes are these days, I'm surprised that these incidents are not reported more often. The latest widely reported incident involved a devise that prevents the seat in front of you from reclining. Customer A threw a cup of water on Customer B who used the devise to inhibit Customer A's seat from reclining after Customer B refused to remove the devise after being asked to by the Flight Attendant.  The flight makes an unscheduled stop in Chicago to offload these miscreants and is delayed about 90 minutes on its way to Denver. I'm of about three min...

Kate Hale (County Emergency Management Director 1992) was having a bad time coordinating relief efforts three days after Hurricane Andrew.  The damage was widespread and South of Kendall Drive the damage was serious.  It looked like a war zone.  Kate asked where the calvary was?  The poor lady had not slept for days.  The scope of the damage was just beginning to be understood, Homestead and Florida City were almost flattened, Goulds, Naranja, Perrine, Country Walk, Culter Ridge, Redlands, Key Biscayne and lots of other places had buildings with serious structural damage. One of my first jobs was to take Florida Secretary of Labor down to Homestead so she could see what happened and what was or was not happening on the ground. Doral to Homestead, the Turnpike all the way with the Florida Highway Patrol clearing the way.  A three car convoy.  I don't usually drive 80 mph.  The FHP guy said to stay close to his bumper.  Sirens blasting we w...

There was a call for volunteers at the Traffic and Transportation Office of Miami Dade County right after Hurricane Andrew.  A battery operated radio and my land line phone was working The house had only lost a few shingles, there was no electricity, my car had a full tank of gas and I had enough ice for a couple of days.  I called my office, they were waiting for instructions from Tallahassee and Washington DC.  We would be busy but not for a day or two.  People would be hired to help in the clean up after the hurricane.  They were happy I had no big issues.  They told me to stay off the roads.  Good advice, immediately ignored. I got in the car to go to the T&T Office.  The drive was an adventure.  Going north there was tree damage, and most intersections with lights were out of commission.  Those yellow traffic signals seemed a lot bigger laying on the ground.  Most but not all had been pulled out of the intersections. ...

David Neal has a nice column today about the Little League World Series in the Miami Herald.  Where does all the money go?  ESPN and ABC were able to fill some time while waiting for college football to start. I think a bag with some swag for the teams that make the finals is in order.  I know Little League isn't the NCAA but I hope the kids that played in these games have some quality souvenirs for their service this weekend. Mr. Neal makes a good point that everybody wants to get paid for what they do.  Makes sense to me. Washing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom or doing some other chores was the price I paid for an allowance, and I really didn't feel very exploited when I got a paycheck for a summer job and my Mom thought it would be a nice thing if I contributed some money for all the milk I was drinking and extra laundry I generated, gasoline and car insurance that was paid for.  In retrospect it was a trivial amount, but it was important. I think I ...

"We do not see things the way they are, we see things the way we are."  I saw this post on Facebook this morning and it said something to me. It's Sunday and I'm tempted to lift something from the Bible:  Matthew 7:4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? And that's the way it goes on the internet.

It's been an interesting Little League World Series no matter what team finally wins or loses.  I've watched more of the LLWS this year than probably forever.  I think Mo'nes story is great.  The last time my fast ball was clocked it was about 50 mph and it wasn't wind aided. ESPN almost went over the top covering this year's games and some will probably think they ended up exploiting a 13 year old for some ratings bump. Good luck to Jackie Robinson West team from Chicago as they move forward. The Bucket Challenge phenomenon continues and the money keeps rolling in. These two good news stories really provide some relief of the scarier stories out there.

This year has been quiet in the tropics so far.  And as a far as I can tell South Florida hasn't gone into a hurricane frenzy yet. August 24, 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida. It is time to make sure that the place is as ready as possible for the possibility of another storm because Invest 96 is south and east of Miami and the models look like it might develop and the potential track is close enough to Miami that when the weather people say to pay attention you should. I think the grocery stores will be a little bit busier this Sunday and there may be lines at gas stations and ATM machines. Batteries, canned goods, have been stocked.  Losing power is almost a given in any kind of storm in my neighborhood.  It happens too often just during thunderstorms.  The apartment was without electricity for about two weeks during Andrew and I lived in a neighborhood that lost trees and a few roofs needed to be replaced but was otherwise had little damage. Katrina ...

I've lived in Coral Gables, near Coral Gables, or in small towns in South Florida that were Coral Gables wannabes. Now I live in what I call the doughnut hole, a county enclave surrounded by South Miami, Pinecrest, and Coral Gables. The Miami Herald had an article about seven young adults that traipsed through Ray Allen's house in Coral Gables at about 2:30 am.  He wasn't having a real estate open house.  The Miami Heat player's family was scared by the intruders. The intruders entered through an unlocked back door.  The gated community's only other means of entrance is by boat. Wednesday the Coral Gables Seven were charged with trespassing after attending a party on Tahitti Beach. The article said the youth would be going into a pretrial intervention program.  Nothing was stolen.  I think the kids were lucky that Ray Allen's wife was not packing a gun. The kids according to one of their mothers was celebrating before going off to college.  They did...

You might think that progress would be faster.  Cell phones are replacing land lines and whether you like it there are trends that we might not even be aware of. Police officers kill people not often but with some regularity,   It's been over a week since Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. You might think that you could go to the Internet and someone would have counted how many folks have been killed in police related shootings.  It isn't easy to get hard numbers. Between 2003-09 there were 4800 deaths while people were in the process of being arrested or in police custody.  About 800 deaths per year.  Riots and civil disturbances don't seem like they happen every time some gets killed in the process of getting arrested or while in police custody.  About 66 deaths on average per month. In a country with 318,000,000 people there are 14 deaths per 100,000 people by firearms in Missouri and about 14.2 deaths by...

This morning went better than yesterday because bedtime was earlier and things weren't so rushed. The Marlins are at .500 and the Cubs are in last place in their division 14 games below .500. The Marlins on one hand seem to have overachieved and on the other hand could have been a real contender had they not lost their ace Jose Fernandez to Tommy John surgery for the year and maybe a little more. Giancarlo Stanton is being mentioned for most valuable player, maybe only in Miami, but he has had a powerful year.  He has hit at least seven home runs that were over 450 feet and one of his last ones might have left Marlins Park had the windows been open. The Marlins still struggle attendance wise but it isn't for lack of trying on the field. On another front, Dania Jai Alai Casino may be closing down for a period up to one year while they finish a big remodeling job.  The Hallandale Beach area may have reached the saturation point for gambling venues, at least during the ...

A Good Walk Spoiled is a story about the PGA by John Feinstein.  I've read it and its one of more than a few nonfiction works of his that I've read and enjoyed. This is about walking in the morning or the evening, or maybe on an afternoon when it finally cools off in Miami. Used to be that if you saw a person who was having an animated conversation by himself you gave him a pretty wide berth.  Like, maybe crossing over to the other side of the street.  These days the voices are probably real, but just because it isn't in a food joint or the elevator you should probably lower the volume. Cellphones are a convenience for sure and we have them and along with being a means of communication they are entertainment, educational, and a form of child care, big brother and stuff I've never contemplated. Phone behavior can be good or bad.  Good phone behavior you notice hardly at all, or maybe it's just morphed into a text message.  Back in the day maybe a parent w...

 There was a study made on comments on the subjects asylum seekers/refugees, people of foreign origin/immigrants, the building of a mosque in Reykjavík, gender equality, feminism, sexual violence and LGBTQI people from March 2013 to March 2014. The study showed that when a person of foreign origin comments on an issue, an Icelander is usually quick to discredit that person’s reputation with a comment along the lines of: “these people should be sent back to their home countries.” In the commenting system, people of foreign origin don’t appear to be entitled to having a critical voice in society. The study further showed that prejudiced comments often reveal that those commenting lack knowledge on the limitations of the freedom of speech and what laws on human rights exist in Iceland. In spite of a lot of other reasons for more tolerance, understanding and inclusion, there still is a lot of tribal behavior out there.

1) Out the door, better breakfast manana. 2) Out the door, Middle School ending. 3) Early to bed, you're kidding, homework. Maybe some pictures another day.  I think this is enough adjustment for one day.

Without a driver's license, with an expired passport and only a copy of social security card that says valid only with employment authorization, you've got problems with transportation, employment, housing and lots of other things too numerous to mention.  A lot of these problems kicked in with earlier attempts at immigration reform and 9/11. Finding a good lawyer that will handle your case and not bankrupt you in the process is difficult if your case is not completely vanilla, in which case you probably don't need a lawyer, but you definitely need someone who can read English, follow instructions, and respond in a timely manner. People in a bad way financially with immigration problems can go into a death spin of sorts.  Lots of other things get paid for before legal bills are even considered and non profit organizations seem to be limited in what they can do and waiting lists are long. The fees for filing paperwork aren't cheap and there are some lawyers that ar...

It took about 24 hours to connect by the phone to Miramar ICE.  It took about five minutes to sign up for an appointment with USCIS Kendall Office and a couple of days waiting for the appointment time to come. This time Patty was better prepared.  She had a notebook full of documents, receipts, pictures, and proof for all sorts of questions.  She also packed a bag filled with personal items just in case.  She was as she said she was going into la boca del lobo.  The mouth of the wolf.  Her sister was alerted in case Lisvey needed a place to stay for a while. The Kendall Office seemed brand new compared to other immigration offices I've been to.  Metal detectors are the usual these days and the guy that did the triage for the days appointments pointed us to the waiting room on the right.  There were only three folks in front of us.  We were lucky to be early, we would be talking to someone soon. Mr. Goldstein was a nice guy.  Patty st...

It's been amusing to see folks dump buckets of cold water over themselves and hopefully making a donation towards research to cure ALS. I worked with a guy that died from ALS.  He wasn't Lou Gehrig and when I visited him at home shortly before his death I don't think he was very lucky.  An accountant for the county, he also did landscaping to help support his wife and kids before he became so ill that breathing required a machine and a vigilance that is hard to believe I guess this fund raiser has been very successful in raising money and awareness about the disease. I must admit, initially I thought the bucket challenge had something had something to do with a fund raiser for Alzheimer's Disease. I hope they have also seen an increase in donations because they can also use all the help they can get as well.

From Krome Detention Center to the Miramar ICE Office in Broward County was instructive as well as a hike.  Patty wanted to go up there and just plead her case.  Again the bureaucracy or blind ass luck intervined.  We discussed this situation because her daughter was in school and should something unintended haapen and she end up in Pompano Beach detention center for women we needed to be prepared. The security guard  strongly suggested that Patty stay in the car car and that I enter the building to inquire about the next step in the process.  Patty had no current Florida id of any kind, her passport from the DR had expired a long time ago and xerox copies of an old social security would be of little help. Entering the building there was an area filled with folks.  The guy at the front desk asked if I had an appointment.  No appointment meant sitting for a long time or calling the number on a business card he gave me.  Returning to the car we ...

Krome Detention Center, Kendall Service Center, (multiple visits), Miramar ICE Office, Saint Albans Vermont Service Center, Fort Lee, Missouri (National Benefit Center), and the Miami Service Center are immigration offices that have been visited, corresponded with, or conducted interviews during a immigration process that began in 1988 and ended with a permanent resident card being received at my house on August 12, 2014. Competent legal assistance, financial resources, or patience at certain times during the process would have completed the process without lying or gaming the system. The Krome Detention Center was not a particularly pleasant place. It is a jail for folks that are charged violating immigration law and are waiting for their cases to be heard or are waiting for the logistics of deportations to be completed.  Thankfully, it was a holiday and the guard at the front gate only searched the truck for explosives and gave us a piece of paper with an address in Miramar w...

The Patent Office had a lot of paralegals that were paid apparently when there wasn't a lot of work to do and to top it all off, a lot of these paralegals were telecommuting from computers at home and it it was difficult for supervisors to figure out what there underlings were doing, if anything. Other time payments according to the OIG meant being paid while having nothing to do.  It took complaints from "whistle blowers" to start the OIG investigation in May 2013.  "According to the OIG report probably $5.09 million was wasted between 2009-2013 and sadly the problem was known throughout organization and until the OIG started  no one seemed to take ownership of the issue. This small story was on page three of The Miami Herald.  The OIG report was issued on July 24, 2014. Money wise it may not seem to be a lot of money, but it is when on one hand the Patent Office has a backlog of work that is not being completed and there are resources that being squandered. A...

Putin outlaws the import of agricultural imports from Europe and the United States after Europe and the United States rachet up sanctions on Russia.  U.S. and the E.U. lose a market for their stuff?  Will the price of chicken go down, will the price of oil go up or down?  Will the separatists keep shooting down planes and how much longer will the fighting go on there? The Mid West has good weather and bumper crops.  Fire up the ethanol plants, wind power, and solar power, because we might be sending more of our newly found oil to help our European Allies keep the lights on. Meanwhile, the Middle East seems to be perfecting the art of combining religious conflict, political conflict and at least ethnic cleansing if not genocide.

Death of a Racehorse by W.C. Heinz Published in The Sun, July 29, 1949 They were going to the post for the sixth race at Jamaica, two year olds, some making their first starts, to go five and a half furlongs for a purse of four thousand dollars. They were moving slowly down the backstretch toward the gate, some of them cantering, others walking, and in the press box they had stopped their working or their kidding to watch, most of them interested in one horse. "Air Lift," Jim Roach said. "Full brother of Assault." Assault, who won the triple crown ... making this one too, by Bold Venture, himself a Derby winner, out of Igual, herself by the great Equipoise ... Great names in the breeding line ... and now the little guy making his first start, perhaps the start of another great career. They were off well, although Air Lift was fifth. They were moving toward the first turn, and now Air Lift was fourth. They were going into the turn, and...

Immigration sunrise, card approved, countdown 27 Immigration sunrise, immigration website, mission accomplished

Some time public services are difficult to appreciate.  Some times they don't even need to be public services. The Miami Herald has an article in today's paper about "cutbacks" at the County's Parks.  In 2005 the grass was cut at the County Parks 25 times during the year.  They were scheduled to be cut 12 times in 2014, but that may be reduced to 9 visits by the lawn mowing crews because of budget cuts. Grass along right of ways also seems a lot longer than in previous years.  The obvious answer to this situation is for property owners to cut the grass on the swale in front of their properties, and for the most part this happens.  What about boulevard areas?  Obviously, property owners may not be responsible for the maintenance of these areas and voluntarism on the part of someone with a lawn mower would probably raise as many questions as it would solve. Liability is probably the biggest problem even though the risks are only obvious after the fact. ...

I have been to my share of immigration offices in Miami.  In fact I used to work at 7880 Biscayne Boulevard which was the main office back in the late 1970's.  The neighborhood was kind of seedy back then.  I often had a hot dog at the Triple Dead Heat Bar or walked a couple of blocks for a slice of pizza at Flora's. The place these days is coming back as a neighborhood I've been told. One of the more outrageous aspects of the old office was the fact that most cases were handled on a first come first served basis.  Folks would line up the night before.  Early the next morning, a security guard would give out tickets that allowed folks to enter.  It became common to pay someone to hold your space in line.  The process wasn't very user friendly and eventually guards were in the parking lot where the line started to keep all hell from breaking loose. The 7880 Building was the site of demonstrations for Haitians, Nicaraguans, Cubans and other assorted ...

The Harper's Index for August, 2014 mentions a Gallup Poll in which one in two residents of Illinois would leave the state if they could.  It would be interesting  to see how that feeling is distributed throughout the state or if it is just part of the fabric of  Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, or any of a number of major cities in the USA.  Research is just like that.  The answer to one question almost always leads to other questions.

Sunday's Miami Herald has an article homelessness and the opening of an pavilion complete with a padded mat and a roll down plastic screen to provide a shield from the rain.  It's the go to alternative to a night in jail in Miami. Some think it may encourage more folks to live on the street and slow down efforts to find more permanent housing for the homeless.  I don't think being homeless is a crime, but it's hard to live on the street and not get in trouble.  Recently I noticed bus benches with arm rests that split the benches into thirds.  I doubt it is being done to help older riders get off the bench and on the bus.  I would guess it just makes it impossible to sleep over night on a bus bench next to your rusty grocery cart. I'm not really sure there is a good permanent answer to the folks that are chronically homeless.  The problem relates to the cost of housing and low wages, mental health issues, drug addiction, and in some cases some really bad l...

Last night the Marlins played the Reds at Marlins Park.  Thursday games are free for "Los Ancianos".  Show them your official ID and you can watch a Major League Baseball Game if you are chronologically challenged.  This is my second venture to a baseball game this year and I had a great time. The Marlins got jobbed big time as a double play was over ruled by the replay umpires in New York who said the catcher had blocked the plate, according to a new rule to protect catchers and runners from violent collisions.  The collision was avoided but the opinion of the umpire really changed the outcome of the game.  One play later a single added another two runs and instead of having a one run lead the Marlins were trailing by two.  An announced crowd of about 18,000 saw the Marlin manager go batshit crazy as the Marlins dropped to 53-55. I'm glad I don't bet on baseball games, but that doesn't mean folks don't bet on games.  Moments before the first pitch...