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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2017-09-01 AdvertisementMEDIA COMPANY PUBLISHED DAILY MIAMI-DADE-FLORIDA STATE OF FLORI I A COUNTY OF MIAMI-DADE Before the undersigned authority personally appeared: Jeannette Martinez who on oath says that he/she is CUSTODIAN OF REC 10" RDS of The Miami Herald, a daily newspaper published at Miami in Miami -Dade County, Florida; that the attached copy of advertisement that was published in said newspaper in the issue of: Miami Herald August 30th, 2017 Ac1 No 0003256094-01 — 28800 Special Commission Meeting Affiant .further says that the said The Miami Herald is a newspaper published at Miami, in the said Miami -Dade County, Florida and that the said newspaper has heretofore been continuously published in said Dade County, Florida each day and has been entered as second class mail matter at the post office in Miami, in said Miami -Dade County, Florida, for a period of one year next preceding the :first publication of the attached copy of advertisement; and affiant further says that he has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this advertisement for publication in the said spapers(s). vorn to and subscribed before me this .8th of September, 2017 My Con. rnission Expires: .Augus: 1, 2018 Notary SILVIA SENORA CCM.A.'351ON f.4 FP 3E,'393 EXPIRES: Aur.ji..st 1, 2018 1.'" Bonded Thru 1,kke,ry Public linderv.ht 4A Local Cr State Blom 3Hrra!1 WEDNESDAY AUGUST 30 2017 MIAMIHERALD.CCM fILI RIDA HIGHWAY PATROL Ticket quota controversy costs FHP's second in command his job BY STEVE uSQ000 Herald/Times Tallahassee Rune, AHASSEE r aAagrowing controversy over illegal ticket quotas at the Florida Highway Patrol has costa second high- ranking trooper his job — this time the agency's No. 2 official. Lt. Col. Mike Thomas, the FHP's deputy director, took early retirement as of Friday (Sept. 1) and accepted responsibility for an internal email that encouraged troopers to write at least two tickets anhour, even though quotas are forbidden by law. "This was a grave n my behalf,," Thomas said in a letter of retirement dated Monday and released Tues- day. "1 made this mistake and take responsibility for my actions. This error has negatively impacted the patrol's image, which was never the intent, but I feel it is in the best interest of the patrol that I retire." Thomas said that he felt it was detrimental to describe "goal setting, or the setting of expectations, as a quota." What led to the abrupt end of a three -decade career was Thomas' one -paragraph email on May 31 in which he told six high-ranking col- leagues "to encourage our embers to maintain. our 2.0 citations per hour ratio as we attempt to provide a safer ddvhtg environment for Floridians." One recipient of that entail was Thomas' boss, Col. Gene Spaulding, direc- tor of the patrol. A spokeswoman for Spaulding, Beth Frady, said she could not comment on wiry Spaulding didn't act on the email when he received it and was not sure that Spaulding had seen it. in a statement Tuesday, Spaulding said of Thomas. "It was inappropriate to request a specific number of citations from oar mem- bers." The patrol is still review - DESIGN AND REMODELING -DT1-4 The Miami Beach Convention Center 1900 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, FL LABOR DAY WEEKEND HIGH/LOW DESIGN TIPS WITH HGTV'�S'fp,,^ SABV QINA SC'TO 2:00 and 4:00 0 0. Sept arc: 2:00 p.m. Sept 41h $ a col'° e OPENS FRIDAY PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE BY TOMORROW, AUG. 31ST AND SAVE $3.00! $10 DO FULL PRICE ADMISSION APPLIES SEP 1-4 children 11 and Under, $1.00 Online or at the Box office HOME STYLE 411: ROOM VIGNETTES DESIGNED FOR TV NEWS JOURNALISTS #ATHOMEWITI-IART: ARTIST ENCOUNTER EXHIBIT A TASTE -FULL EXPERIENCE: WINE AND FOOD PAIRING MICRO -SEMINARS (Preregistration Required) today 6.00- 10110 pm haltuday o .a lflay 12 00 10:30 pan Monday IW0n10ud 12:110-:7:30. pot MIAMI BEACH ",�H.jtflilll�l'r1314Y ing to see whether other administrators gave a similar two -tickets -an -hour edict, raising the possibility that re premature retirements may be on the way. Thomas grew up in work- ing-class Homestead where he said a state trooper was a personal role model who joked about a "curfew" so that teens wouldn't be roam- ing the streets ]ate at night. After serving in the Navy, Thomas joined FHP and patrolled the busy highways of Miami -Dade and Broward comities for many years, recalling one very difficult July when Ile had to notify relatives of seven people who died in car crashes. Thomas becomes Ole second high-ranking FITE official to lose his job and iris six -figure salary in two weeks. Thomas was making $131,000 a year. A veteran FHP major under Thomas' command, Mark Welch, saw his 35-year career abruptly end two weeks ago after the Herald/ Times repotted that he sent a July 28 email to dozens of troopers in an eight -county region that officers said was mandate for quotas, which ar e illegal under state law. "The patrol wants to see two citations each hour," Welch wrote to troopers who work on .m overtime detail known as SOAR, or State- wide Overtime Action Re- sponse, a taxpayer -funded initiative to improve high- way safety. "This is not a quota; it is what we are asking you to do to support this important initiative." In a recent Herald/Times interview, Thomas down- played the significance of Welch's email and called it "more of a want" than a quota. The goal, Thomas ex- plained, is for troopers to spend less time in their black and tarn cruisers and more time talking to drivers. "Stop some people. Talk to them. Educate them," Tho- mas said. The Herald/Times ob- tained two more internal FHP emits in which FHP supervisors in Miami -Dade congratulated troopers for meeting or exceeding goals for traffic stops and as a result were allowed to switch. their days off from weekdays to more favorable weekends. Spaulding said that was not a reward, and that troop- ers have never been given inc entives to write tickets. Spauldnrg's boss, Teny Rhodes, executive director of the Department' of High- way Safety and Motor Vehi- cles, reiterated Tuesday: "Quotas are not legal and are not tolerated within the Florida Highway Patrol." The idea of ticket quotas VI Florida has caused an uproar with the motoring public and prompted cr iticism Thomas from key legislators. It also could be detrimental to Florida's image as a haven for tourists. Gov. Rick Scott has said the state is on pace to set an adl-tirne record for out-of-state visitors in 2017. Asked Tuesday for a re - spa e, Scott's office provid- ed this statement: "FHP personnel decisions are made by FHP. Gov. Scott know that Director Rhodes and Col. Spaulding are 100 percent dedicated to the safety of Floridians and visitors." Florida had more than 3,000 traffic fatalities in 2016, the highest number for any year. Yet for the past three years, the number of traffic citations written by state troopers has declined, in large part because of rampant turnover in the ranks that is attributed to a low starting salary. EDUCATION Praising Florida's `innovation,' DeVos avoids traditional public schools Herol,1/Tim, Tallahassee Bureau LLAHASSEE r While advocating for "innovative" learning in Florida's capital city on Tuesday, President Donald Trump's education chief drew complaints for choos- ing to tour two schools that are atypical of the tradi- tional public school experi- ence most children have. Public education ad- vocates — ranging from Democratic candidates for governor to the dozen protesters who picketed her visit — criticized Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for her continued promotion of private schools, charter options and voucher pro - rams over the traditional ools that educate most he nation's children. "She doesn't seem to aye the interest of public schools in mind," said Al T'horburu, who — with his wife, Colleen — faced the blistering Tallahassee stun- ner heat to protest Devon' stop at Holy Comforter Episcopal School, a private Christian school for pre-K through eighth grade that charges annual tuition reaching up to $11,800. Inside Holy Comforter, DeVos took a tour of the facilities, visiting several classrooms where every child had an Apple Mac - Book Air or other laptop to use in their lessons. She read Dr. Seuss' "Olt, the Places You'll Go!" to an attentive kindergarten class, observed third-mnad- ers building robots in the school's STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lab and some- what awkwardly joined a fifth -grade class in raising their hands in "silent cheers" when they got the right answers dining an interactive quiz on English idioms. Later it the aftennoon, Devon visited Florida Stare University Schools — a K-12 charter school known as "Florida High" that's affil- iated with FSU's College of Education. She observed a physics lab where students learned the fundamentals behind robotics, and then she tested the school's flight simulator, before eating lunch privately with students. DeVos praised Florida as an inn ovator in approach- ing education and meeting the needs of students," but she deflected questions about whether she was observing a typical student experience. "I think they're examples of what a lot of schools should aspire to be and look for opportunities to become more innova- tive," DeVos said. "I think we need to recognize the fact that far too many schools have been stuck in a mode that is basically approaching things that have been done very simi- larly to 1.00 years ago, and the world today is much different." Two Democratic candi- dates for governor who both live in Tallahassee — Gwen Graham and Andrew Gillum — blasted DeVos for not including traditional public schools in her visit. "The vast majority of Florida's students attend traditional public schools. Secretary DeVos should spend a fall day in a Florida public school and experi- ence the challenges they face firsthand," said Gra- ham a former one -term congresswoman. More than 2.5 million Florida children are in traditional public schools, about 270,000 kids attend charter schools that are privately managed but publicly funded, and anoth- er 370,000 kids attend private schools, according to data from the Florida Department of Education. Gillum, Tallahassee's mayor, called DeVos' trip a "photo op" and "political stunt." "The secretary's visit doesn't represent the truest impression of where and how students are educated in our com- munity," Gillum said. Holy Com- forter and Florida High e outside DeVos the purview of the Leon County School District. Superintendent Rocky Hanna wasn't notified of the secretary's visit and learned of it only through media reports, his spokes- man, Chris Pettey, told the Herald/Times. During her school visits — which were declared as open to the press — DeVos held the most substantive portions in private: her lunch with Florida High students and roundtable discussions at both schools with students, parents, teachers and administra- tors. DeVos' spokeswoman said keeping those con- emationsprivate encour- ages more open v lion. The public was not a privy to the feedback De- Vos received. Some students whom DeVos met with in the physics lab at Florida High complimented her for be- ing mrrious about their lesson. "It definitely seemed like she was interested in what we re doing," senior Harrison Lacayo said. "This robotics class is a lot differ- ent from what the standard teaching Lyle would be, so she was talking to us about how we liked it. She seemed invested is how much we liked this class." CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA NOTICE OF SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING Pursuant to Section 2-33(1) of the Code of the City of Miami, Florida, as amended, Mayor Tomas Regalado called fora special meeting of the Miami City Commission to be held on Monday, August 28, 2017, at 9:00 a.m., at Miami City Hall located at 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida. Additionally, Mayor Regalado has called fora special meeting on Friday, September 1, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. at Miami City Hall. **PLEASE NOTE TI-IAT 51-111 SPECIAL MY COMfp11001013 MEETING OF AUGUST 28, 2017, IS IN RECESS AND WILL RECONVENE ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2017, AT 9:00 A.M. AT M61AlVdb C1TY HALL."" The purpose of the special meeting Is to continue to discuss referendum and/or charter amendment Questions to be placed on the November 7 2017 General Municipal Election ballot. including but not limited to all related Resolutions necessary in order to place additional questions on the ballot. No business shall be conducted or a vote taken at a special City Commission meeting on business other than the subject for which the special meeting is called. All interested persons are invited to attend this meeting. Should any person desire to appeal any decision of the City Commission with respect to any matter to be considered at this meeting, that person shall ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made including all testimony and evidence upon which any appeal may be based (F.S. 286.0105). in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, persons needing special accommodations to participate in this proceeding may contact the Office of the City Clerk at (305) 250-5361 (Voice) no later than two (2) business days prior to the proceeding TTY users may call via 711 (Florida Relay Service) no later than two (2) business days prior to the proceeding. 1G00 Floddanonao:,,a 5 /71 rt0omesno01 I OEL35010tOOI wwwhomeshows.net INS11 Ilw3010 ! :128800 Todd B. Hannon City Clerk '$1 Il AY WI' N4 II $