Conexión Miami / Turning down $66 billion
MIAMI.- Being number one is usually celebrated. But the fact that Florida leads the nation in turning down Medicaid funding cannot be considered something to cheer about. The information comes from a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute. By refusing to expand Medicaid under ObamaCare, Florida will lose out on $66.1 billion in federal funding over the next decade, edging out Texas for the top spot. It means in 2016 some 1.1 million Floridians will go without health insurance who otherwise could be covered by Medicaid.
The cost of a smashed Chinese vase
Remember Maximo Caminero? He’s the Miami artist who showed up at the Perez Art Museum, picked up a vase painted by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei and dropped it on the floor smashing it to pieces. At the time Caminero told the arresting officer that his actions were meant as a protest on behalf of local artists who he felt were not being represented at the new $131 million complex on Biscayne Bay. In a plea deal, Caminero must serve 100 hours of community service teaching art classes, serve 18 months probation and pay back $10,000 in restitution.
Retro Charlie working against the 2014 Crist for governor
If you’re a Florida voter you’ve probably received calls at home using Charlie Crist’s own voice espousing opinions he had in previous campaigns – when he was a republican. In one, Crist says, “I’m pro-life, I oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants and I support traditional marriage…” all issues he has differing opinions on today. A group called The Conservatives is raising the money for the calls. Their biggest donors include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Medical Association and Disney. Interestingly, these are some of the same groups that oppose the medical marijuana amendment and are dead set against same sex marriage in the state.
Obama lacks gumption on Cuba
Seventeen members of congress sent President Obama a letter urging him NOT to act any further on Cuba policy earlier this month. After circulating this letter throughout Capitol Hill for weeks looking for Members to sign it, the final result were the aforementioned 17… That equates to 4% of the House of Representatives. Oh, and lest we forget, 14 of the 17 received $200,000 in political contributions from that Cuba-hating PAC headed by the guy with the hyphenated last name. Leading the heap of money receptors was South Florida’s own Debby Wasserman-Schultz with more than $40,000. Sad to report, one of the signees was Miami’s Joe Garcia. And still, with 4% backing among members of congress, Obama refuses to act on Cuba.
Honest folks? Ha!!
Republican Carlos Curbelo, who most say will win the republican primary to challenge Joe Garcia in congressional district 26, has added big guns to his campaign. They are republican presidential aspirant Mitt Romney and Fausto and Remedio Diaz-Oliver. Elaine del Valle, in herPolitical Cortadito website, points out that the Diaz-Olivers were charged with tax evasion and customs fraud in 1997 after she and two others who owned a food-importing firm allegedly tried to hide about $456,000 from the IRS. They also allegedly deflated the price of Spanish goods they imported by almost half –from $5.3 million to $2.8 million. We suppose money trumps honesty in this race. As for Romney, we don’t think he even won District 26 in 2012.
Obama’s swift kick in the butt
The Obama administration is at it again. Remember the “hope” Barack Obama promised us in 2008 and then again in 2012? The only hope they are offering Central American children running to safety in the U.S. is a quicker boot in the butt. According to a Miami Herald report, in Florida “immigration courts have set up ‘rocket dockets,’ speeding up the time it takes to review migrants’ cases and determine whether they should be deported. Whereas it typically takes two or three years to resolve deportation proceedings, the new process could take months.”
Real Clear Politics
The website Real Clear Politics (RCP) gauges important political races around the country. Instead of offering results of one poll, they hunt for all available, legitimate polls and average them out to give you an idea of how a particular race is doing. They offer numbers based on the last available poll taken. In the case of the Florida governor’s race, as of the first week of August, here are their results: the RCP average favors Rick Scott (+0.8%); Survey USA has Scott with a 2% advantage; Rasmussen Reports has Scott with +1; CBS News/New York Times has Scott with +5; and Quinnipiac has Charlie Crist with +5. Folks, it’s anybody’s race right now.
The poor keep getting poorer
Miami is one of the poorest cities in the U.S. It has some of the richest zip codes just a drive away from the poorest. And now the U.S. Conference of Mayors has released a report that shows how the Great Recession affected wages and income in places like Miami. Among the key findings is that the jobs gained in the recovery paid an average of 23 percent less than those that were lost. And income inequality appears to have worsened.
Campaign reports show Lynda Bell is a liar
The Miami-Dade County Commission race between incumbent Lynda Bell and challenger Daniella Levine Cava continues to amaze us. Can Lynda Bell be more cynical? Bell’s campaign seems to be struggling. So Bell is willing to stoop very, very, very low in hopes of winning. She recently sent a mailer accusing Levine Cava of helping the Miami Marlins get their stadium – or we can call it the fraud perpetrated on Miami-Dade residents. The fact is that if you want to know who lobbied for the Marlins deal, take a few moments to page through Lynda Bell’s campaign reports.
Miami Lakes has two mayors – at the same time
Michael Pizzi used to be mayor of Miami Lakes, a town just north of Hialeah. In 2013, Gov. Rick Scott suspended Pizzi from office after he was indicted and charged with seven counts of corruption. This week he beat those charges in court. Pizzi now wants to finish his term in office. But Gov. Scott weighed in and said, wait, wait, not so fast Mr. Pizzi. The problem: Wayne Slaton was elected during a special election to replace Pizzi. But Florida law is pretty clear on this. It states that if an elected municipal leader is cleared of charges, “then the Governor shall forthwith revoke the suspension and restore such municipal official to office.” Miami Lakes had two mayors’ photos hanging at city hall last Friday after the court decision.
Florida leads the nation in foreclosures
Foreclosure figures published Thursday by the research firm RealtyTrac shows that 1 in 469 homes in Florida had at least one notification in July of this year. Although that is a decrease of 30 percent compared to the same period last year, the figure is double the national average in the United States.
The ice bucket challenge
If you have been connected to social networks in recent weeks you have probably seen numerous personalities getting doused with a bucket of ice-cold water. Pete Frates, a former baseball player at Boston College, who has ALS, initiated the ice cube challenge in mid-July. Its aim is to raise funds for research of the disease. Pete’s initiative became viral in a couple of days and the association has raised more than $ 4 million. The challenge reached President Barack Obama, who refused to get wet, but we are told made a donation to the ALS Foundation.
The ice cube challenge offers a 24-hour window to those who have been invited to donate $10. Those mentioned on the videos posted on the networks must, in turn, then challenge three other people and then must empty a bucket of iced-water on their heads. If the person who receives the invitation decides to stay dry, you can alternatively choose to donate $100 to the cause instead of $10.
