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 THIS MONTH SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch
SUNDAY - SEPTEMBER 4, 2016 - From 11:00 am to 2:00 pm on the first Sunday of every month, the SunTrust Sunday Jazz Brunch fills the air with jazz music performed on three stages along the historic New River. Each month, bands perform a wide range of jazz in downtown Fort Lauderdale along the Riverwalk. Picnic baskets, blankets, chairs, dogs, children and people of all age groups blend into one large Jazz Appreciation Fest. On SEPTEMBER 4, 2016, DeeDee Wilde Band will be at the Esplanade, Danny Burger Trio at the Broward Center Peck Courtyard and Debbie Orta Quintet will appear at the Connie Hoffman Gazebo. For additional information or to schedule an event nearby, call the Special Events Hotline at (954) 828-5363, or Click Here to e-mail Debbie Bylica or call 954-396-3622 and leave it on the responding voice mail.
CLICK HERE for Details Rockin' & Reelin'
Join the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation Department for a FREE concert and movie series this fall at Provident Park (1412 NW 6th Street) in Fort Lauderdale! The monthly music and films will begin on SEPTEMBER 2 and continue through NOVEMBER 11, 2016. Bring your chairs, picnic blankets, snacks, family, and friends to enjoy great music and movies outdoors! From 7 PM to 10 PM during the first Friday of each month throughout this Autumn Extravaganza, enjoy a kickin' concert. One week later - on the second Friday of the month, at 8 PM you can watch a great movie - all for FREE. On SEPTEMBER 2, the Bubba Mack Band will treat you to an evening concert that combines the Blues with Rhythm & Blues. On SEPTEMBER 9, 2016, at 8 PM check out the hit movie REBOUND, featuring Martin Lawrence. Be there or be square - ITS ALL GOOD and ITS ALL FREE.
For more information, please call the Parks and Recreation Special Events Hotline at 954-828-5363, Click Here to e-mail or CLICK HERE to the Rockin' & Reelin' web notice.
If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact (954) 828-PARK (7275) or Click Here to e-mail. 6th Annual Tunnel To Towers 5K Run & Walk Ft Lauderdale
On SEPTEMBER 10, 2016, the 6th Annual Tunnel To Towers 5K Run & Walk Ft Lauderdale will take place at 7:30 AM in Huizenga Park (32 Las Olas Boulevard) in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The event commemorates the heroic actions of New York firefighter Stephen Stiller on September 11, 2001, who strapped 60 lbs. of gear to his back, and raced on foot through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others. The run and walk event pays homage to our military and first responders who made, and continue to make, the supreme sacrifice of life and limb in the line of duty. More than 92 cents out of every dollar went directly to program services. Contributions fund the "Building for America’s Bravest" program, and builds smart homes for our most catastrophically injured service members, which are adapted to compensate for specific disabilities attributable to combat injuries.
For more information, call (718) 987-1931, Click Here to Email or Click Here to the T2T 5K web page. 21st Annual World Wake Surf Championships
In its 21st year, the Centurion World Wake Surfing Championship (WWSC) is a legendary competition among all water sports events, let alone wake surf tournaments. As the pinnacle wake surf event of the season, the 2016 WWSC will be held SEPTEMBER 22 through 25, 2016 at Mills Pond Park (2201 Northwest 9th Avenue) in Fort Lauderdale. Past host to the WWA Wakeboard World Championships, Mills Pond Park is an amazing place to watch or compete in a surf event. The depth of the pond will allow the Centurion Ri237 to kick-up the biggest most well-defined waves possible, while the close grassy shoreline will allow for a great view of the World Wake Surfing Championship action. The evening of September 21st will be rider registration check in, this will be held at the B Ocean host hotel. Right now current, past and potential champions from all over are traveling to World Series of Wake Surfing events to earn a Competitive Wake Surf Association (CWSA) ranking that qualifies them for wake surfing’s equivalent to the Olympic Games, the Centurion World Wake Surfing Championship. The Official Wake Surfing for this World Class event is the towboat with the biggest waves and the biggest industry buzz - the 2017 Centurion Ri237 powered with GM Marine Engine Technology by PCM.
For more information, Call Scott Culp at 407-741-8521 or Click Here to email or Click Here to web info. Friday Night Sound Waves Live Music Series
Set against the magnificent backdrop of Fort Lauderdale Beach, the Friday Night Sound Waves Live Music Series takes place EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, MARCH 18 – NOVEMBER 18. Set at the Fort Lauderdale Beach Hub of Las Olas Boulevard and A1A, Friday Night Sound Waves offers some of the area's finest local and regional touring talent, performing an eclectic range of genres including Jazz, Blues, Country, Latin Fusion, Top 40, Reggae, World and Classic Rock. Free to the public, both area locals and global visitors. This month's performers include Woody and the Longboards on SEPTEMBER 2, the Funk, R&B, Soul, Motown and Dance/party music of Pocket Change on SEPTEMBER 9, Uproot Hootenanny on SEPTEMBER 16, Hot Legs: Tina Turner - Kat Riggins Tina Turner Tribute on SEPTEMBER 23 and Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howl on SEPTEMBER 30. Bring a beach chair, bring beach blankets, and bring a friend. Pets are welcome along the promenade, but not in the sand. While food and drinks are welcome, alcoholic beverages and glass bottles are prohibited.
For more information, contact series producer Arianne Glassman at ari@fnswflb.com or Click Here to the Friday Night Sound Waves website. The Sun Sentinel Career Fair
The Sun Sentinel Career Fair is a 1 day event being held on SEPTEMBER 29, 2016 from 11 AM to 3 PM at the War Memorial Auditorium (800 NE 8th Street), in Fort Lauderdale. This event showcases products like Government agencies promoting education, Banks providing Educational loans, Service Provider to Educational institutions, ICT solution providers etc. in the industry. Organized by the Catalyst Career Group, attending visitors will include Jack Karako (Social Entrepreneur at Impactism in Coral Springs), Mignon Marshall (Forensic Underwriter at C. Sukari Hardnett, Llc), Scott Majewski (Analyst at Self Ft. Lauderdale), John Thomson (Office Manager at Dex Imaging Ft. Lauderdale Fl), Fred Weitz (Presenter at Professionally Speaking Consulting, Llc), Aj Jaggernauth (Individual Plantation), Veronica Medina (Founder Partner at New Product Creation Sunrise Florida) and many more.
For more information, call 815-308-5426 or Click to E-mail. To submit your resume - check Sun Sentinel Career Fair web page - CLICK HERE Galt Mile Reading Center - September Events
Every month, the Galt Mile Reading Center offers a schedule of engaging events tailored to the needs and interests of Galt Mile residents. Located at 3403 Galt Ocean Drive in Fort Lauderdale (directly across from Playa del Sol, Commodore and Southpoint), the library sponsors Book Reviews, Biographies, discussion groups, author presentations and special sales. Computer Classes equip local residents with the online and office skills critical to keeping abreast with our digital planet. Computer Classes are usually scheduled on TUESDAYS from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Space is limited to first 6 patrons. Call 954-357-7840 or CLICK HERE for more info about the SEPTEMBER 2016 COMPUTER CLASSES. CLICK HERE for the schedule of OTHER SEPTEMBER OFFERINGS at the Center. Refreshments and admission are FREE.
For more information about the Galt Mile Reading Center, call (954) 537-2877 or CLICK HERE to web site. Beach Community Center - September 2016 Events
The Galt Mile Commnity Association fought for almost a decade to insure that our neighborhood was anchored by a wonderful Community Center. Located at 3351 NE 33rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale (Between A1A and the Intracoastal near Oakland Park Boulevard), the Beach Community Center host a wide range of activities that pique interest, promote good health and stimulate the mind. Every Month, the Center sponsors Feature Films, ZUMBA Dance Classes, Party Bridge and Mah Jongg, Yoga, and Tai Chi. CLICK HERE for fitness Events. CLICK HERE to the CLUB 55+ locations and overview. Daytime events are scheduled from 8 AM in the morning through 6 PM. CLICK HERE for the SEPTEMBER Calendar of Events. CLICK HERE to see how Kids 6 - 11 can attend the indoor Cool Kids Cranium Camp, where they discover Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics while cooking, swimming, staying fit and field trips.
For more information about the Beach Community Center, call Lee Glickman at (954) 828-4610, Fax (954) 565-0849, CLICK HERE to email or CLICK HERE to the Beach Community Center's web page. You can also email Susan Riestra by CLICKING HERE. Chabad September Events
On FRIDAY & SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 & 3, 2016, ATTEND A Cantorial Shabbat with Cantor Yossi Lebovics. Cantor at the Synagogue of Inverrary Chabad, Lebivics studied music and Cantorial Art under Cantor David Bagley, Cantor Moshe Schulfhoff and Mr. Jonathan White. A performer at numerous International and National events, Lebovics sang the National Anthem to open games for the Miami Heat and the Panthers. On MONDAYS, SEPTEMBER 5, 12, 19 and 26, Rebbetzin Chaya Katz will present a weekly Parsha class between 3 and 4 PM - on the Torah portion of the week. Coffee will be servied. On WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, On site sofer to check your mezuzot and tefillin. Guaranteed same day if brought in by 9 a.m., so please let us know how many of each you plan to bring. On SUNDAY, SEPTERMBER 25, at 10 AM in the Chabad Social Hall, Rebbetzin Chaya Katz will teach how to knead, braid, shape and bake Challlah for sharing a "Loaf of Love" - as Rosh Hashannah care packages are prepared for delivery to hospital patients and the elderly. In readiness for the new year, on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, attend a Shabbaton - a traditional Friday Night Dinner after 7 PM services. RSVP - Reservation confirmed on payment of Couvert - $36 per person.
For additional information, call Gitty Levin at 954-568-1190 or CLICK HERE to Email. Located at 3500 North Ocean Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, CLICK HERE to Chabad Lubavitch of Fort Lauderdale website. 12th Annual Annual Oktoberfest
Oakland Park has announced its 12th Annual Oktoberfest celebration will take place from September 30 through October 2nd at Jaco Pastorius Park, 4000 N. Dixie Highway. Featuring everything from dashing dachshunds to apple strudel eating contests, Oakland Park has turned its annual Oktoberfest celebration into one of the signature cultural entertainment events in South Florida. Oktoberfest hours are Friday, September 30 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, October 1, from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday, October 2, from 12 Noon to 5 p.m. at the downtown park turned “Biergarten” just north of the NE 38th Street / Park Lane
intersection. Oakland Park Oktoberfest attracts enthusiasts who enjoy the festive atmosphere with authentic German cuisine, beverages and music. The event also features a children’s carnival area, craft vendors and other attractions. The large tents along North Dixie Highway will replicate a festive Bavarian village celebration, including a stage and dance floor. Scheduled entertainment includes the multi-style European - American band “Alpine Express,” as well as German musician and singer Sepp Diepolder whose talents include the accordion, jodler and zither. Performances by the “Auerhahn Schuhplattlers” dancers will delight attendees with their colorful attire and dancing display.
For additional information, Call Eric Waters at 954-630-4507, email at EricW@oaklandparkfl.gov or CLICK HERE to Annual Oakland Park Oktoberfest Web page. Riverwalk Fall Festival
Join us at Esplanade Park - 400 SW 2nd Street - on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 as we say goodbye to the summer and welcome fall fun at the 2nd Annual Riverwalk Fall Festival. From 12 Noon to 4 PM, spend the day with fall carnival themed games, activities and competitions. The Coral Springs School of Rock and the School of Rock West Broward will be performing live. An assortment of vendors and food trucks will also be on site for your enjoyment. This FREE event is open to all ages and well-behaved pets too (on leash). Feel free to bring along your lawn chairs to enjoy this afternoon of fun and live music. No outside alcoholic beverages or coolers allowed.
For additional information, Call Cristina M. Hudson at 954-468-1541 , email at cristina@goriverwalk.com or CLICK HERE to Riverwalk Fall Festival Web page. 7th Annual Flamingo Gardens Labor Day Native Bird Festival
The Flamingo Gardens & Wildlife Sanctuary in Davie will host the Flamingo Gardens Bird Festival on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 from 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM at 3750 SOUTH FLAMINGO ROAD, DAVIE, Florida (on Flamingo Road between Griffin and I-595). Experience the birds that make Florida their home with live bird exhibits, birding classes, aviary tours and special Birds of Prey presentations. The Flamingo Gardens Aviary was one of the first displays of its kind, giving a home to permanently injured Florida native birds. It boasts over 250 birds and over 45 species, with the distinction of being the largest collection of Florida wading birds in the state. Florida native birds will be featured with a special guided tour of the Aviary, Raptor demonstrations, and other bird presentations throughout the gardens, with special talks and lectures on birds and birding during the day in the Gallery. Enjoy a beautiful day at the Botanical Gardens and Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary. Explore the 1930s history of the Wray Home, lunch on BBQ and hot dogs at the Flamingo Cafe* and play old fashion games with the kids. Admission to the Bird Festival is only $9.95 ages 12+, $6.45 children 3-11, free for members and children 2 or younger. Narrated tram tour is included. Please, no coolers or pets.
Admission also includes: 60-acre botanical garden, Native wildlife exhibits with panthers, bobcats, otters, alligators, Free flight aviary, birds of prey, golden and bald eagles, narrated tram ride through the tropical rainforest, Live Wildlife Encounter Shows 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and Tours of Historic Wray Home 10-4.
For more information, call 954-473-2955, Click to Email or Click Here to the web page. 2nd Annual Schoolapalooza
Sponsored by the organization HANDY (Helping Abused Neglected Disadvantaged Youth), HANDY’S Second Annual SCHOOLAPALOOZA will take place at ARTSUP! Gallery in Fat Village (529 NW 1st Avenue), in Fort Lauderdale on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. A Prohibition-period cocktail party to raise funds to provide HANDY students with back-to-school necessities, such as clothing, shoes, computers and senior year college prep essentials. Attendees will have a roaring good time as they enjoy a selection of delectable hors d’oeuvres, a speakeasy-themed open bar and live entertainment – it’s sure to be the bee’s knees! Founded in 1985, HANDY’s mission is to embrace, educate and empower vulnerable youth to become engaged and productive adults. HANDY’s core programming provides mentorship, tutoring, life skills and family style support for kids in need. General admission tickets are $75; VIP tickets are $125.
For additional information, Call Beth Bryant at (954) 522-2911, ext. 209, Click to Email or CLICK HERE to an informative Web page. North Ocean Beach Art Walk
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 - In the wake of SUNSET BLUE, the Galt Ocean Mile Shoppes neighborhood (AKA North Beach) has replaced the regular concert-driven street fair with a far more civilized - if not quieter - venue. Not to be outdone by Las Olas, North Beach or NOBE is exploiting a flood of new Galleries that aggregated to North Beach by sponsoring a FREE Art Walk on the first Saturday of each month. If you haven't strolled across the street recently, you may not have visited Paul’s Art Gallery, the Barry Gross Gallery, Mac Fine Art, Gallery 101, the North Beach Art Gallery or Rachel Henriques Art Studio. Some of them migrated here from the FAT (Flagler Arts and Technology) Village Arts District near downtown Fort Lauderdale, others from Miami. The area's redesignation as an Art's District has also drawn the Broward Arts Guild. New shops like Home Suite Home/Roberto Sanchez Design, La Dolce Vita Restaurant, the VIP Room and Salon Mantra bloomed while you were napping. Well, now you're awake. Get over there and see what you've missed. Better yet, Go there at 6 PM on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016, have dinner in one of the boutique restaurants and join the crowd for the Art Walk at 7 PM.
For additional information, CLICK HERE to check out their Facebook Link.
To see the new shops in the area, CLICK HERE and click one of the categorey buttons on the right.“Art2 (Art Squared)” Exhibit - Broward Art Guild
The Broward Art Guild is hosting a “Art2 (Art Squared)” Exhibit. Theme - Use your imagination and creativity but all 2D Artwork must be a square format, size is flexible as long as it is square. 3D works and Jewelry must be predominately (50%) square or cubes in nature. Artwork will be Open Theme, Open Medium for 2-D, 3-D and Jewelry. The event will be held at the BROWARD ART GUILD at 3280 N.E. 32nd Street in FORT LAUDERDALE. The Opening Reception: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016, from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. A longtime Fort Lauderdale institution, the Broward Art Guild moved from downtown Fort Lauderdale to anchor the flaming hot North Beach - Galt Ocean Village neighborhood. See you at the Art Walk!
For more information, call ReGina Skane at 954-537-3370 or Click Here to email or Click Here to WEB PAGE. Naked Feet 5K
On SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016, the FIRST annual Naked Feet 5K takes place on the beautiful sandy beaches of Fort Lauderdale Beach (Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, 1100 Seabreeze Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale). Registration is at 6 AM. The run - walk starts at 7:30 AM and the course closes at 10 AM. The 5K course is entirely in the SAND. It is a nice out-and-back course that turns around at the jetty by Port Everglades. The ocean breeze will be at your side and the open water there for a cool down after the event. The beauty of this course is that there is no street to cross, no tracks to navigate, only leg-strengthening sand!! Come enjoy running in a truly natural environment. Place awards are given only to those who complete the distance “un-shod” (shoeless). This is the first event of this kind in our area embracing the road AND trail running elements in ONE event. Runners walker triathletes old and young will all love this new challenge to the 5K distance!
For more information, call Coach Sandy at (402) 218-6966 or Click to E-mail.
Check web page by CLICKING HERE for DetailsBroward National Recovery Month Expo
This September marks the 26th anniversary of National Recovery Month. This year we are celebrating the millions of individuals whose lives have been transformed by recovery and those committed individuals who play a role in their success. Broward Recovery Month invites you to join us on SEPTEMBER 24 at the War Memorial Auditorium (800 NE 8th Street) from 11 – 4 for some food, fun and inspiration while acknowledging those who are dedicated to recovery and to honor local heroes who have made a significant impact on addiction treatment. You can make a difference by joining in the Recovery Month effort. Your contributions can have a positive impact and I hope we can count on your help as an event donor or sponsor!
For more information, call event Co-Chairs Lisa Sheehan at (954)-297-6739 or Erica Shapiro at (305) 761-7318, Click Here to Email or Click Here to the T2T 5K web page. Fort Lauderdale Gun & Knife Show
The Sun Coast Gun Show will be held at the WAR MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM at 800 NE 8th STREET in FORT LAUDERDALE. The Fair is scheduled for SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 from 9 AM to 5 PM and SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 from 10 AM to 5 PM. The Ft Lauderdale Gun Show is a favorite for local gun collectors, hunters, and enthusiast. Dealers and private collectors from across the state of Florida exhibit at this show. You'll find a huge selection of guns, accessories, and many hard to find items. Make sure you do not miss the next Suncoast Gun Show coming to the War Memorial Auditorium. The charge for admission is $8 per person - Kids Free (12 & under). Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information, call (954) 828-5380, (407) 410-6870 or Click Here to web site. Galt Mile Bingo!
Throughout the year, various Galt Mile Associations sponsor weekly BINGO nights.
On TUESDAYS - GALT TOWERS invites their Galt Mile neighbors to 4250 GALT OCEAN DRIVE at 7:30 PM in the Galt Towers Social Room. For information about TUESDAY Bingo at Galt Towers, call Cyndi Songer at (954) 563-7268 or CLICK HERE to email
On WEDNESDAYS, head to REGENCY SOUTH at 3750 GALT OCEAN DRIVE for a fun-filled BINGO night beginning at 7 PM. For information, call Bob Pearlman at 954-547-4063. Late Night at Flamingo Gardens
The Flamingo Gardens & Wildlife Sanctuary in Davie will host this event on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM at 3750 SOUTH FLAMINGO ROAD (between Griffin and I-595) in DAVIE, Florida. Flamingo Gardens will stay open until 7:30 PM for your enjoyment while 18 Food Trucks serve up goodies in the parking lot from 5 PM - 9 PM. Digital Anarchy spins the tunes. As always, parking and entry to Food Trucks is free. Entry to Flamingo Gardens is $5 after 4 pm. (Last Tram is at 4:30 pm. Wray Home Museum closes at 5 pm and Aviary will close at 7:00 pm. Last admission to gardens is at 7:00pm). Admission also includes: 60-acre botanical garden, Native wildlife exhibits with panthers, bobcats, otters, alligators, Free flight aviary, birds of prey, golden and bald eagles, Live Wildlife Encounter Shows 12:30, 1:30, 2:30 and Tours of Historic Wray Home 10-4.
For more information, call 954-473-2955, Click to Email or Click Here to the web page. Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Events
To streamline the City Budget, effective October 1, 2013, Fort Lauderdale residents are no longer able to dispose of household hazardous waste (HHW), electronics, or yard waste at any of Broward County’s drop-off locations. Cooperative agreements with other cities provide our residents with free access to more frequent opportunities to dispose of hazardous waste and electronics. Fort Lauderdale residents are invited to participate in drop-off events at the following locations from 9 AM to 2 PM: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2016 in the City of Coconut Creek (4800 W Copans Road); SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 in the City of Coral Springs (4181 NW 121 Ave); SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016 in the City of Pompano Beach (1660 NE 10th Street); SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2016 in the City of Tamarac (6011 Nob Hill Road). Acceptable materials include paint, pesticides, used motor oil, lawn chemicals, pool chemicals, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, household cleaners, automobile batteries, televisions, computers and accessories, fax machines, printers and cell phones. Do not bring microwaves, stereos, explosive materials, biohazardous (medical) waste or business-generated waste.
For more information, please Call 954-828-8000 or CLICK HERE to check the City web page for DetailsJazz On The Square - SEPTEMBER 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 - Join us at Commercial Boulevard and the Beach at Pelican Square every Friday night from 6 PM - 10:30 PM for an outdoor festival of music and merriment sponsored by THE VILLAGE GRILLE & VILLAGE PUMP and 101 OCEANS RESTAURANT! For more information, call LBTS Events at (954) 640-4200 or email at info@lbtsevents.com. Call THE VILLAGE GRILLE & VILLAGE PUMP at (954) 776-5092, email the eatery at info@villagegrille.com or Click Here to check out its web site. Click Here for the 101 Ocean Restaurant website, or call (954) 776-8101. Gamma Aquarid Meteor Shower
This shower is active during SEPTEMBER 1-14, with maximum occurring on SEPTEMBER 7. Its highest rates of activity only reach 1-4 meteors per hour. This meteor shower was first observed in England during 1921, when A. Grace Cook and J. P. M. Prentice independently detected activity in early SEPTEMBER. Independent observations from 1927 to 1934 were made by groups of observers in New Zealand and Germany. Only one radio-echo survey has ever revealed the Gamma Aquarid stream. During the 1961-1965 session of the Radio Meteor Project, activity was noted during SEPTEMBER 10-11. Although this stream was not noted in any of the analyses of photographic meteor orbits during the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's, the Author has identified two photographic meteors from a list of 2529 orbits computed by Richard E. McCrosky and Annette Posen that definitely belong to the Gamma Aquarid stream. They were both detected on SEPTEMBER 11, 1952, by the Harvard Meteor Project. During the 1970's two detections of this stream came from the Southern Hemisphere. The meteor section of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand observed this shower on several occasions during the decade. Section director John E. Morgan compiled a list of 213 active radiants which included the Gamma Aquarids.
For more information, CLICK HERE to Meteor Shower Web Site. GMCA Presidents Council - The next GMCA Presidents Council Meeting is scheduled for MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. The meeting will be held at PLAYA DEL MAR CONDOMINIUM, 3900 Galt Ocean Drive in Fort Lauderdale. Our thanks to Playa del Mar President Fred Nesbitt for hosting this important meeting. Pio Ieraci will chair the monthly Presidents Council meeting. Check GMCA CALENDAR for important meeting information.GMCA Advisory Board
The next regular meeting will be on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at NICK’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT - 35th Street & NORTH OCEAN DRIVE (A1A) in FORT LAUDERDALE. President Pio Ieraci will chair the monthly Advisory Board meeting. Check GMCA CALENDAR for important meeting information.Commissioner Bruce Roberts’ Pre-Agenda Meeting MONDAY - Commissioner Bruce Roberts’ Pre-agenda meetings will be held on 6 PM on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 at the Beach Community Center (3351 NE 33rd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale) and on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 at Imperial Point Hospital. Two or more City Commissioners and/or Advisory Board members may be present at this meeting. All are welcome to attend.
CLICK HERE for Details or Check GMCA CALENDAR for Commissioner Roberts’ bi-weekly Pre-Agenda MeetingsFort Lauderdale City Commission Meeting Convened in the CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL, 100 N ANDREWS AVE, FORT LAUDERDALE. The next meetings are scheduled for TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 and TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2016. Conference Agenda - 1:30 PM, Regular Agenda - 6:00 PM. The City Commission meetings are generally held on the first and third Tuesday of the Month - aberrations due to holiday conflicts, etc. are posted. All are welcome to attend.
CLICK HERE for Details or Check the GMCA CALENDAR for meeting dates and times of Fort Lauderdale's City Commission. Fort Lauderdale Planning & Zoning Board Meeting WEDNESDAY - SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS AT CITY HALL, 100 N ANDREWS AVE, FORT LAUDERDALE at 6:30 PM. The Fort Lauderdale Planning & Zoning Board Meetings are generally held on the third Wednesday of the Month - aberrations due to holiday conflicts, etc. are posted. All are welcome to attend.
CLICK HERE for Details or Check the GMCA CALENDAR for meeting dates and times of Fort Lauderdale's City CommissionCouncil of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations General Meeting TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 (7:00 PM - MEET & GREET, 7:30 PM - MEETING) at City Hall, 100 ANDREWS AVENUE. President Marilyn Mammano convenes the monthly general meeting of the Council of Fort Lauderdale Civic Associations. The meeting will be held in the 8th Floor Commission Conference Room.
CLICK HERE for Details or Check GMCA CALENDAR for information about the monthly meetings Ask Lori!
Read the SEPTEMBER 2016 question asked of Lori Parrish by a Broward resident - Broward County Property Appraiser LORI PARRISH answers questions posed about property appraisals (of course), Save Our Homes amendment ramifications and the ubiquitous “Homestead Exemption”. Located in the Broward County Property Appraiser page on the Galt Mile Community Association web site, Lori Parrish clarifies confusion surrounding the appraisal process and explains our rights in simple Q & A format.
CLICK HERE for Details and Click Here for the September 2016 Question for Lori.
CLICK HERE For Details!
MARKETS
There are many wonderful markets available to Galt Mile residents on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. CHECK THEM OUT!CORAL RIDGE GREEN MARKET - Every Saturday from 9 AM to 4 PM at Plaza 3000 at 3000 N. Federal Highway for Produce, gourmet items, flowers, etc. For information call Rachel O'Neill at 954-426-8436 or Click Here to email LIVING GREEN FRESH MARKET - Daily from 8 AM to 5 PM (1305 E Commercial Boulevard) for Fresh produce, teas, coffees, sandwiches, preserves, and lots of other goodies! For information call Anthony Papageorgiou at 954-771-9770 or Click Here to email LAS OLAS SUNDAY MARKET - Every Sunday from 9 AM to 2 PM at 333 East Las Olas Blvd. and SE 4th Avenue. For Produce, flowers, gourmet goodies. For information call Rachel O'Neill - TGMMC (The Green Market Management Company) - at 954-214-9933 or Click Here to email .BROWARD HEALTH FARMERS MARKET - Every Tuesday from 8 AM to 3 PM at Broward Health Medical Center (1600 S Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale). Fresh picked local, organic and exotic fruits & vegetables, pure local honey, just picked organic greens, organic couscous, beans, lentils, rice, other grains! For information call Contact Cathy Schwartz at 954-831-2752 or Iris Casanova at 305-318-6148. WHOLE FOODS FARMERS MARKET - Every Tuesday from 4 PM to 8 PM at Whole Foods Market (2000 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale). Fresh picked local, organic and exotic fruits & vegetables, pure local honey, just picked organic greens, organic couscous, beans, lentils, rice, other grains! For information call Contact Cathy Schwartz at 954-831-2752 or Iris Casanova at 305-318-6148. MARANDO FARMS WEEKEND ARTISANS’ MARKET - Every Saturday and Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM - located 2 blocks south of Davie Boulevard, 1 block west of Andrews Avenue (adjoining the railroad tracks) at 1401 SW 1st Avenue, Fort Lauderdale. For information call Chelsea Marando at 954.294.2331 or Click Here to email .
 VOTE EASY VOTE EARLY
2016 PRIMARY ELECTION - TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2016. 2016 GENERAL ELECTION - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016. - You do not have to wait until Election Day to vote. You do not need an absentee ballot or some special dispensation. Early voters can make known their will at a variety of different Broward sites. Nearby locations include the Coral Ridge Mall (North or NorthWest Entrance) at 3200 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale, The Fort Lauderdale Branch Library (Art Serve) at 1350 E. Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, the North Regional Library/Broward College at 1100 Coconut Creek Boulevard in Coconut Creek, Emma Lou Olson Civic Center at 1801 NE 6th Street in Pompano Beach as well as the Wilton Manors City Hall at 2020 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Early voting hours of operations are MONDAY - FRIDAY 9 AM - 7 PM; SATURDAY - SUNDAY 7 AM - 4 PM. Registered voters can avoid the traffic and the lines that plague overcrowded polling places. If you bring a signature-bearing photo id (preferably a Drivers License, although Photo Credit and Debit Cards are also OK) and a previously marked sample ballot, you'll whiz through the experience. VOTE EARLY! TRAFFIC PLUGS MAY 2016 - STREET CLOSURES - THROUGH SUMMER 2017 - A1A from Oakland Park Boulevard to Flamingo Avenue - Two lanes of traffic in each direction of A1A will be maintained at all times. Through Spring 2016, they will be shifted to the east side of A1A. 35 mph speed limit will remain in effect during construction. Single lane closures can be expected from 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. At signalized intersections, a lane may be closed for a period of two hours or less between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. A sidewalk will be maintained on at least one side of the road within the project limits. State Road A1A Landscaping from Sunrise Boulevard to NE 18 Street - One lane in either direction may be closed intermittently Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
CLICK HERE for full details - YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
CLICK HERE TO READ GMCA PRESIDENT PIO IERACI'S PRESIDENTS COLUMN!
PEACE ON EARTH
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GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS RELEVANT TO OUR COMMUNITY! READ THE GMCA'S CURRENT POLITICAL UPDATES FROM:
CITY COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS JULY 9, 2015 - In his July 2015 message to constituents, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts explains how the City complemented its hurricane preparedness strategy with planned applications for Federal funding, distilled its highly technical Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) into a user-friendly fiscal primer, credits Fleet Services Program Manager Carlos Berriz for the City Fleet clinching the 36th top spot in a field of 38.000 American public fleets, details how the Uptown Link - a shuttle bus launched last summer to service the Cypress Creek corridor - was administratively melded into a Sun Trolley and lists noteworthy municipal events through September. Jumping on two incidents recently splashed in the media as attacks by the “Silent Killer,” Roberts takes a hard look at Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. So should you
BROWARD BEACH ADMINISTRATOR NICOLE SHARP JUNE 1, 2015 - After reviving the dormant Segment II beach project in 2011, former Broward Beach Administrator Eric Myers spent the next 3 years chasing the required State and Federal permits. Having won a hard-fought struggle with FDEP for a State permit, when his crusade for a Federal Permit was taken hostage by NOAA Fisheries, an agency in the Commerce Department, Myers retired - passing the baton to Broward Natural Resource Administrator Nicole Sharp. Joined by District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca, new beach boss Sharp hunted the remaining regulatory brass ring – a Federal Permit to reclaim vanishing Segment II beaches. Since the high-powered politicians recruited by Myers failed to dent the bureaucratic brick wall that cloisters Federal Agencies, Sharp turned to a resource for whom the federal regulatory jungle serves as a playground - an Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager and regulatory bloodhound from the Palm Beach Gardens office - the late Garett Lips. It worked. The Segment II beach fix is scheduled to begin in November!
BROWARD COMMISSIONER CHIP LAMARCA MAY 10, 2015 - In his May 2015 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca reports having cleared the final hurdle to a federal permit for the long-awaited Galt Mile beach renourishment, projecting a November project kickoff. After applauding county measures to conserve water, LaMarca reviews Broward infrastructure improvements, citing fiscal hallmarks achieved by Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, "Green" Paratransit and Express buses launched by Broward County Transit and construction of a Biogas Cogeneration Electric facility that will morph organic waste into electrical power for the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pompano Beach. LaMarca also updates the controversial entry of transportation network companies (i.e. Uber, Lyft, etc.) into the Broward market, another in a series of reports documenting a simmering conflict between unregulated web-based services and their traditional brick and mortar counterparts, which has evolved into a metaphor for the underlying conflict between Uber and the County Commission!
STATEHOUSE REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE MORAITIS MARCH 26, 2015 - On January 22, 2015, Statehouse Representative Jay Fant (R – Jacksonville), whose family-owned bank failed in 2012, filed House Bill 501 entitled “Limitation of Actions”. A bill summary on the Statehouse website claimed it “Reduces period during which action must be brought for latent defect in design, planning, or construction of improvement to real property; provides applicability”. If Fant's developer-drafted bill had lowered the staute of repose from 10 to 7 years, since developers can legally engineer a seven-year turnover of condo and co-op boards to resident majorities, by the time residents assumed control, they would be barred from suing the developer for construction defects. While being vetted in the House Civil Justice Subcommittee. District 93 Statehouse Representative George Moraitis led the charge against the bill, remarking “How do you go home and face your constituents after voting for a bill like this?” Fortunately, the bill was ultimately retired to the cornfield, having faced an inauspicious death on the Calendar.
FORT LAUDERDALE MAYOR JACK SEILER MARCH 18, 2015 - On February 2, the Galt Mile Presidents Council convened its first 2015 meeting at Fountainhead Condominium. The agenda, traditionally packed for the year’s inaugural meeting, addressed a threat to the Galt Mile Sun Trolley, a media driven controversy over the City’s Homeless policy, and a predictable outburst during a Beach Renourishment update. As two of the three agenda items were also of critical importance to the City, Mayor Jack Seiler joined the meeting to weigh in about a media driven controversy over the City’s Homeless policy, and get answers about the Segment II Beach Renourishment. Despite having implemented one the state's most progressive Homeless programs, Seiler explained that he downplayed the City policy amid recent adverse media propaganda because “We don’t want Fort Lauderdale to become the target destination for homeless persons across the Country.” Upon learning about the bureaucratic obstacles blocking the Segment II beach fix, Seiler asked supportive Federal regulators how the City can help secure the Federal Permit, citing the importance of a healthy beach to the region's economy and as a buffer protecting millions of lives and $billions in upland property against catastrophic storm damage.
What's New?
ASSOCIATIONS
All of the members of the Galt Mile Community Association are entitled to maintain a website that reflects the relevant features and qualities of their residences. This is the link to the websites of the individual Associations. Recently added sites include Caribé, L’Hermitage II (connects to private web site), the current L’Hermitage Link Newsletter, Coral Ridge Towers South, and The Galt Merchants Association! In addition, 90% of the existing Association Sites have been recently upgraded. Check yours out! We’re delighted to see that the PLAYA DEL MAR website is BACK UP and RUNNING. The PLAYA DEL MAR web site offers the entire association newsletter. It also houses past newsletters in the Newsletter Archives! THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! ANOTHER SURPRISE! The CORAL RIDGE TOWERS EAST Web Site has also been reincarnated. CORAL RIDGE TOWERS EAST resident and Webmaster Warren Eisenberg has done a wonderful job in bringing an online presence back for one of the first GMCA member Associations to create a web site! In April 2005, CORAL RIDGE TOWERS ORIGINAL established a web site. The GALLEON set up an independent web site and REGENCY TOWER'S web site was up and running again after an unexpected hiatus. In August, 2006, Director Jack Zink took the initiative to set up an independent web site for FOUNTAINHEAD. Also, PLAZA SOUTH has joined the club, kicking of its web site in June of 2008... congratulations! More good news! COMMODORE CONDOMINIUM has also created its own fully self-maintained web site. The Royal Ambassador is using a Continental Connect site adapted for that association. The first association south of Oakland Park Boulevard accepted into the Galt Mile Community Association, The Tides at Bridgeside Square has a self-directed web site. Following a brief hiatus, PLAZA EAST had their management company set up a private website. SOUTHPOINT created a site in June of 2013 and PLAYA DEL SOL took the plunge in July. In 2014, L'AMBIANCE BEACH and Caribé opened self-directed websites.
Click to CONDOS
DIRECTORS
The Galt Mile Community Association is administered by a Board of Directors, an Advisory Board, and the Presidents Council (an assembly of the Presidents, other officers, directors and managers of each member Association). They are depicted and briefly biographied in this section.
Who Are They?
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| AERIAL VIEW OF THE GALT OCEAN MILE SHORELINE |
 September 20, 2016 - In his August 2016 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca congratulates eleven County departments named by the National Association of Counties for Achievement Awards (four snagged by the Risk Management Division); notes that Port Everglades rated Green Marine Certification and won German-based Hapag-Lloyd as a new customer; cites Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) for a Green Practices Program that earned the J. Bryan Cooper Environmental Award for its Sustainable Strategic Initiatives in Terminal 4 and newly opened Concourse G; warns constituents to prepare for Hurricane Season and introduces a new mobile access to online tax data. LaMarca also details State and County efforts to choke off the slippery Zika Virus. After racing across South America and the Pacific, this mystery pandemic surged into South Florida, where health authorities worldwide know little more than we do about stamping it out
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Roberts: PACE; Sales Tax, FXE; King Tides
 September 10, 2016 - In his September / October 2016 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts prods constituents to complete hurricane preparations, suggests a new financing option for energy-efficient property improvements, thanks Fort Lauderdale bean counters for a spending plan that enhances City services while freezing the millage, congratulates the Budget Division for earning the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, reviews sales tax ballot initiatives to upgrade failing infrastructure, applauds Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE) for hosting a drill to sharpen tactical emergency response, welcomes the installation of Global Entry Kiosks to expedite Customs procedures at FXE, encourages utilization of the CodeRED emergency notification system, updates high-level staff changes and alerts residents to impending flood risks during September’s King Tides.
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July 2016 LaMarca Letter
 August 15, 2016 - In his July 2016 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca explains his recognition by the Florida Association of Counties for successfully lobbying Tallahassee lawmakers to boost allocations to beach renourishment projects and Seaport improvements, examines a new funding source for homeowners and businesses planning energy-saving property enhancements, reviews how a litany of new partnerships, improvements, and business agreements have strengthened Port Everglades’ operational and economic underpinnings, and applauds a new Broward Library Division service model that increased certain branch hours of operation without exploding the budget.
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Retrofit Roulette in Tallahassee
 August 3, 2016 - In the past few months, Florida community association homeowners have been perplexed by unexpected regulatory bear traps. A requirement to retrofit condominiums and cooperatives with a budget-busting automatic sprinkler system, which the Florida Fire Code limits to existing high-rise associations, has suddenly evolved into a mandate for every association in the State, regardless of size. Although Broward Senator Jeremy Ring, Senate sponsor of the governing 2010 statutory opt-out amendment, informed DBPR Director Kevin Stansfield that the agency misinterpreted the relevant Statutes, it hasn't detered DBPR from enforcing a law that seemingly doesn't exist. Simultaneously, a May 2016 Declaratory Statement has empowered local fire marshals to require the installation of sprinklers in associations whether or not they voted to forego a sprinkler retrofit.
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June 2016 LaMarca Letter
July 21, 2016 - The June 2016 message from Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca opens with a Property Tax primer, tracking an Ad Valorem dollar through the FY 2016 - 17 budget process. An ardent fan of Broward transportation infrastructure, our District 4 Commissioner recounts events at an FDOT-hosted Wave Streetcar Industry Forum and commends Port Everglades for helping client shippers comply with safety-based container weight verification requirements. After explaining how a joint Broward / Palm Beach water reclamation project will benefit both counties, LaMarca invites constituent participation in the Broward Academy’s ten-week educational series - which explores the panoply of County Government services.
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Moraitis: June 2016 Post-Session Update
 July 12, 2016 - In his June 2016 Newsletter, District 93 Statehouse Representative George Moraitis outlines how the 2016 State Budget may impact constituents. Moraitis takes pride in State contributions to planned improvements in Port Everglades, asserts that legislative leaders proved conversant with the importance of Beach Renourishment, reviews a series of appropriations to Everglades Restoration, cites a controversial tax cut package – capped by a “Back to School” sales tax holiday, describes a “historic investment” in Florida schools and applauds a $500,000 award benefitting Homeless participants in the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Rapid Rehousing Program. In contrast with last year's dysfunctional legislative gauntlet, the 2016 budget process was a love-fest.
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Boat Show: Back in the Soup
 July 3, 2016 - For the second time in a decade, Fort Lauderdale residents watched plans to improve Bahia Mar turn to vapor. During the past 40 years, the 39 acres of Barrier Island real estate stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterway served as epicenter of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. As the last few years of its Bahia Mar contract wind down, city officials fear that this Fort Lauderdale fiscal engine may weigh anchor and sail into some other South Florida coastal venue, destabilizing our municipal economy and sucker-punching the city budget. After reduced building heights cost them 8% of their condo sales, developers claimed that since city lease negotiators and boat show officials were eating their lunch, they declared that the project is "no longer economically viable" and pulled the plug - unless...
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New Law: Screening Military Tenants
 June 26, 2016 - On June 14, 2016, Executive Director Yeline Goin of the Community Association Leadership Lobby (CALL) alerted the Galt Mile Community Association to a legislative change that impacts how associations must process certain prospective lessees - specifically - the men and women who defend our country. On August 8, 2015, Florida Senator Aaron Bean (R - Jacksonville) filed Senate Bill 184 – a piñata of eclectic benefits for veterans and active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Unanimously approved in both houses, the bill was enacted on April 15, 2016. After July 1, 2016, Associations will have to follow a new set of rules when screening servicemembers for tenancy eligibility - as per State Law.
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May 2016 LaMarca Letter
June 16, 2016 - In his May 2016 constituent Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca snapshots the Segment II Beach Renourishment and outlines a planned 2020 Segment III South County beach fix. LaMarca also reviews recently expanded services at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, examines County progress in transforming the Greater Fort Lauderdale - Broward County Convention Center from a local meeting venue into a world class conference magnet, details how a May 14 Hurricane Preparedness Open House at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center helped frame links between planning and survival, and explains how SWIM Central, a County program that teaches kids how to swim, befits May’s designation as National Water Safety Month. Now that the Galt Mile Beach has reclaimed it's robust 1960's zeitgeist, Nicole Sharp is exploring measures to prevent the beach from melting back into the sea.
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George Moraitis: 2016 Homeless Update
 June 6, 2016 - Despite Florida’s fetid reputation as a mine field for the homeless, Fort Lauderdale maintains one of the State’s most effective homeless safety nets, as roving teams of Homeless Advocates and FLPD officers annually make roughly 8,000 referrals to critical services for anyone who stumbles over the question “Where did you sleep last night?” In 2009, the City implemented a new weapon against this crippling epidemic. $1.5 billion made available in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 fueled the creation of Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Programs (HPRP) in participating jurisdictions, including Fort Lauderdale. Impressed with it's significant impact on the City's chronic homeless population, Representative George Moraitis has evolved into a passionate program advocate, and applauds the legislature for allocating $500,000 to continue housing those whose survival would otherwise be questionable. For his take on the City's progress, read Moraitis' May 2016 constituent update.
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Roberts: Galt A1A, E-911, Body Cameras
 May 24, 2016 - In his May / June 2016 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts alerts constituents to the City’s preliminary exploration of an independent Emergency 911 (E911) service, applauds the ISO Certification merited by the City’s Strategic Management System and strong Water and Sewer Bond Ratings assigned by Standard & Poors and Moody’s Investor Services, summarizes the progress of FDOT’s rehabilitation of A1A along the Galt Mile, updates FLPD’s planned approval of a Body Camera Program, solicits requests to investigate Properties that may be unregistered vacation rentals, and invites constituents to attend two FDOT public meetings - a May 24 review of planned improvements to the I-95 interchanges at Commercial Boulevard and Cypress Creek Road and a May 25 discussion about the Wave Streetcar Project. Roberts' message to constituents cloaks a costly message to the County, which may save your life!
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April 2016 LaMarca Letter
May 15, 2016 - In his April 2016 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca welcomes Broward Navy Days Fleet Week festivities to Port Everglades, notes that the F-35 Lightning “Joint Strike Fighter” will make it civilian debut at the Fort Lauderdale Air Show, enumerates “BrowardPetFix” spay/neuter programs such as SNIP, Portable Sterilization Units, Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR), and Returned-to-Field (RTF), applauds two restaurants in Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (Shula Burger in Terminal 1 and Food Network Kitchen in Terminal 3) for their recognition by USA Today “10Best” Readers’ Choice National top 10 list and cites a Sea Turtle Conservancy grant that enabled Broward County to protect nesting Sea Turtles by crafting and installing Sea Turtle informational signs at county-wide beach access locations.
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Bahia Mar: Rebirth or Snake Oil
 May 8, 2016 - Fort Lauderdale's two-legged economy is driven by tourism and the Marine Industry. Since the Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show identifies South Florida’s $11.5 billion Marine Industry with the City of Fort Lauderdale, when a rumored relocation by Show Management CEO Efrem Zimbalist III threatened to hijack the yearly windfall, nerves in City Hall were stripped raw. While the world’s largest Boat Show is distributed over 7 sites in the city, including most of the City’s major Marinas and the Convention Center, ground zero is the Bahia Mar Resort & Marina at 801 Seabreeze Boulevard. The 39-acres of barrier island that cradles Bahia Mar from the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal is owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale - and a new lease is up for grabs.
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Calling for Help: 911 is Still on Hold
 April 26, 2016 - Ten years after 80% of Broward’s voters mandated a countywide consolidation of emergency dispatch services in 2002, public officials from the county and its 31 municipalities finally acknowledged that doing so would shave precious minutes from the emergency response time – where the difference between life and death is often measured in seconds. For decades, emergency calls that were fielded in one of a dozen dispatch centers throughout the county were chronically dropped or “misdirected”. In other words, some people calling 911 about a robbery, break-in or a body on their front lawn might just as well have reported the incident to Dairy Queen. The county-wide system implemented on October 2014 has faced horrific growing pains, which a consultant may soon correct. This is what's happening...
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Gerrymander: A Tallahassee Team Sport
 April 17, 2016 - After four trials, three special sessions and eight rulings from the Florida Supreme Court, the lines delimiting Florida’s State Senate districts and Congressional districts were finally redrawn. Although the new district boundaries may minimally impact many jurisdictions, not so for the Galt Mile. A congressional district map and state Senate map used to define political boundaries since 2012 were both recently struck down by the courts when a coalition of voting rights groups spearheaded by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause provided evidence that districts were designed to protect either the Republican majority or incumbent Democrats. In 2010, Florida voters approved a constitutional prohibition against gerrymandering; five years later, the courts gave it teeth. Wanna see how?
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March 2016 LaMarca Letter
April 9, 2016 - In his March 2016 constituent update, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca cites a study that demonstrates how synchronicity between Broward’s key Transportation hubs fiscally fuel our community, reports that another lucrative Port Everglades tenant extended their relationship by 20 years, notes the onset of Sea Turtle nesting season, outlines how several competitive water conservation contests successfully met their objectives, describes Broward efforts to upgrade an antique county-wide Emergency 911 Radio system and details how unclaimed items abandoned on Broward County Transit busses are passed to charitable or educational groups for donation. Read on...
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Sine Die 2016: Surviving Assn Bills
 March 26, 2016 - With a handful of exceptions, dozens of association bills filed during the 2016 Legislative Session were finally exiled to the ever-expanding Tallahassee boneyard. In the last week of the session, a set of companion bills in the House and Senate were poised to become legislative trains, repositories for bits and pieces of stalled legislation whose sponsors hoped to rescue from death on the calendar. Senate Bill 1050 filed by Senator Jeffrey Brandes (R - St. Petersburg) and House Bill 1187, sponsored by Representative James W. “J.W.” Grant (R - Tampa), relating to the Department of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR), were besieged by lawmakers with bills destined for oblivion. Like most 2016 association bills, these trains never left the station. Take a look at a few survivors...
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Chlorine Noodle Soup
 March 17, 2016 - Late last Summer, a few Galt Mile residents sent emails to the neighborhood association complaining about the odd taste of their tap water. One of our neighbors surmised that vengeful kids, having been ejected from the beach by the Galt Mile Security Patrol, somehow sabotaged their association's water. In fact, the perpetrator was the City of Fort Lauderdale. From May 10 through June 14, Water Services will temporarily alter the chemical purification process as part of a regular water distribution system maintenance program. Some may sense a strange taste or acrid odor, while others won't notice any difference. Since it takes approximately two weeks for the chlorine to clear, any perceived changes should dissipate by early July. For the 411 on the H2O, Read on...
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George Moraitis: Mid-Session Update
 | | MORAITIS |
March 8, 2016 - District 93 Statehouse Representative George Moraitis opens his 2016 Mid-session Legislative Update by thanking the Port Everglades Advocacy Team (PEAT) - Broward officials and businessmen who visit Tallahassee each year to promote enhancing the Port's competitive improvements. Annually packing an impressive schedule of meetings (36 last year) into one or two days, the team lobbies relevant Committee Chairs, legislative leaders and executive branch officials. Moraitis also cites Statehouse efforts to bolster education, applauds budgeted appropriations to Everglades Restoration and reviews the House version of a complex $1 billion targeted tax cut nested in House Bill 7099 filed by Representative Matt Gaetz (R – Fort Walton Beach). For the Moraitis Mid-Session Update, Read on...
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February 2016 LaMarca Letter
February 28, 2016 - In his February 2016 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca reports meeting in Tallahassee with officials from other Florida coastal communities to solicit lawmaker support for a reliable beach maintenance funding resource, describes how the Port Everglades Advocacy Team lobbied Tallahassee lawmakers to annually allocate at least $25 million to insure that Florida seaports remain economically competitive, details how a free Mobile Passport Control smart phone / tablet app can expedite processing by U.S. Customs for travelers at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, invites budding Broward entrepreneurs to hone their business skills at the 2016 Capacity Building Conference on March 4th and 5th, and applauds Broward County Library for showering patrons with a staggering 1.2 million eBooks in 2015. For the Commissioner's February update, Read on...
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Beach Project: Plowing Thru Segment II
 February 19, 2016 - After seventeen years of rain-dancing in Tallahassee, Congressional foot-dragging and gridlock in Washington DC and nearly two decades of broken promises by Broward officials, back-hoe excavators, bulldozers, front end loaders and off-road trucks descended on several beachfront staging areas along the North Broward coast. On January 4, the Broward Segment II project was launched in three municipalities. In Pompano Beach, a crew cloistered at SE 12th Street headed north. After initially heading north, another crew assembled at Palm Avenue in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea turned south toward Galt Ocean Mile. In Fort Lauderdale, a third staging area was located at Vista Park in Lauderdale Beach heade north, where the beaches at L'Hermitage and Southpoint were expanded. Approaching from different directions, the two crews will have completed replenishing the Galt Mile Beach by the end of March. Maybe you should cross your fingers...
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Return of the Bogus Estoppel Bills
 February 10, 2016 - During last year’s legislative session in Tallahassee, two Florida Lawmakers proposed bills in the House and Senate that would enhance the profitability of their “day jobs”. HB 611 was filed by Rep. John Wood (R - Winter Haven) while companion Senate Bill 736 was filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel (R – Lakeland). Although described by Realtors as the “estoppel certificate” bills, homeowners in more than 46,000 Florida community associations knew the legislation as “The Home Tax”. Fortunately, the bills were abandoned on April 28, 2015. Unfortunately, these wallet worms are back. Five months after the bills died on the Calendar, Wood (a realtor) filed House Bill 203 on September 18, 2015. Two months later, on November 3, 2015, Stargel (who owns and operates two Polk County Real Estate firms) filed a companion bill, Senate Bill 722. If these nest feathering bills aren't improved, prepare for a new budgetary line item in next year's spending plan.
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January 2016 LaMarca Letter
January 31, 2016 - In his opening 2016 Newsletter, District 4 County Commissioner Chip LaMarca polishes the economic halo adorning Port Everglades, including a record-breaking number of cruise passengers serviced on December 20, a decision by corporate cash cow Florida International Terminal LLC to renew its lease, and an unprecedented jump in rail freight attributable to the recently completed Intermodal Container Transfer Facility. Given his passionate concern for pets and Broward’s feral fauna, LaMarca reviews three newly approved programs crafted to abate the occupancy rate in the County’s animal shelter, and steers cat-lovers to grant recipient “Stray Aid & Rescue”, a mobile Wilton Manors spay/neuter clinic that will also vaccinate for rabies, clip an identifying ear notch and treat for debilitating feline bugs - for only $2 (a negligible co-pay to subsidize the rabies shot). LaMarca closes with an opportunity for ambitious conservationists to win $1000 for engineering and implementing a local water conservation program. For the Commissioner's first 2016 District 4 update - read on...
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Roberts: FLPD: Vacation Rentals; NTAS
 January 24, 2016 - In his January / February 2016 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts celebrates Fort Lauderdale’s designation as a Digital City for using technology to facilitate municipal objectives, notes that the Winterfest Boat Parade snagged 9th place in the 10Best and USA TODAY’s Readers’ Choice awards for Best Holiday Festival (although he neglected to mention that Fort Lauderdale was named number 3 in the Readers’ Choice runoff for Bikini-Watching), applauds the City’s number 10 ranking in a 4th quarter 2015 Industry Report by HomeVestors / Local Market Monitor listing the Top Ten Cities for Real Estate Investment, considers a pilot program that implores smokers to desist in certain City Parks, endorses “Reality Check”, which enables FLPD officers to treat wayward juveniles with a portable version of Scared Straight, warns against “self-radicalized” terror-mongers using the internet to up their game, summarizes initial impacts of the City’s new Vacation Rental Ordinance and relishes Port Everglades’ record-breaking growth. May as well get started...
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Banned Bus Booted Back to Galt Mile
 January 12, 2016 - On August 10, 2015, Broward County Transit (BCT) Operations Representative Oscar Correa told association officials that Broward County buses would clog Galt Ocean Drive throughout the A1A Greenway project’s duration - which he estimated at “two - possibly three years.” After three months of fomenting fear and frustration while chewing up public and private infrastructure, the neighborhood association and Commissioner Chip LaMarca negotiated their removal with Broward County Transit Director Tim Garling. In October, Broward County Transit (BCT) announced that the layover sites of four Broward bus routes would no longer obstruct Galt Ocean Drive. In December, one of the Route layovers was smuggled back to the Galt, reviving fears that Correa was right. What happened?
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December 2015 LaMarca Letter
January 2, 2016 - In his December 2015 message to constituents, District 4 County Commissioner Chip LaMarca applauds Broward County Transit (BCT) for launching full-featured new buses onto local thoroughfares, describes how a burdensome access glitch to the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center will soon be corrected, advises pet owners to protect their furry companions against rabies, wandering off or getting snatched, and cites local photographer Fred Johnson for landing the cover page of the 2016 Florida Association of Counties Calendar. About buses - although we were promised that Buses from Routes 72, 36 and 11 would no longer use the Galt Mile as a depot, perhaps you noticed that Route 72 buses are again being stacked along Galt Ocean Drive. Is this a mistake - or did our Broward Officials play fast and loose with the truth??? We'll soon see.
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Segment II: Sandman at Hand
 December 22, 2015 - For the past year, Galt Mile residents were repeatedly assured that the Segment II beach renourishment would begin following the November conclusion of Sea Turtle nesting season. It didn’t. For some veteran Galt Mile residents, nearly two decades of crushing disappointment replaced enthusiasm for the project with a numbing cynicism – on a hair trigger. Having grown accustomed to flimsy excuses, bureaucratic foot-dragging and political double-talk, leery Galt Mile residents attending a December 16 Segment II kickoff meeting seemed incredulous when project planners announced the January 4 start date. Working with the Feds, the State and 3 North Broward municipalities, Broward Officials finally pulled it off. During a Q & A, when Broward Beach Administrator Nicole Sharp divulged project details, even diehard skeptics conceded that the Beach is about to be fixed. See for yourself...
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November 2015 LaMarca Letter
December 11, 2015 - In his November 2015 Newsletter, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca updates his District 4 constituents about the Segment II Beach Renourishment, notes that Port Everglades is entering the Preconstruction Engineering & Design (PED) phase, invites you to pay your property taxes, outlines the Conservation Pays rebate program for High Efficiency Toilets (HET’s), describes FPL's SolarNow exhibit at the Young at Art Museum and Library, applauds the Broward County Aviation Department's new Maintenance Facility for earning the LEEDs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification, outlines free NewVenture courses for budding entrepreneurs, and exhorts boating enthusiasts to watch for Manatees that migrate into the intracoastal to forage when the temperatures warm. For the Commissioner's District 4 November update - read on...
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Galt Link: New LBTS Hookup
 December 4, 2015 - From his seat on the Board of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (DFLTMA) - the Sun Trolley’s parent agency - Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bruce Roberts learned that the Galt Mile route's ridership statistics inexplicably tanked along the leg that serviced Holy Cross and Imperial Point Hospitals - threatening the viability of the neighborhood's bus service. Installed last December as Sun Trolley Executive Director, Robyn Chiarelli cut a deal with Galt Mile Officials. After launching an informal referendum to determine if the declining ridership was due to a statistical glitch or the neighborhood's evolving transportation proclivities, Chiarelli used the resident feedback to reconfigure the Galt Link. While no one was watching, she simultaneously resolved an inherited fiscal snafu that might have otherwise crippled the service. Curious? - read on...
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October 2015 LaMarca Letter
November 24, 2015 - In his October 2015 Newsletter, Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca updates his District 4 constituents about the impending Segment II Beach Renourishment, applauds Port Everglades for earning LEEDs (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for energy-efficient improvements to Cruise Terminal 4, welcomes the next generation of informational Sea Turtle signage headed for Broward beaches and announces a series of free ACT and SAT preparation courses offered at seven branch Libraries (although not available at the Galt Mile branch).
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Roberts: Boat Show; King Tides; P.L.A.Y.
 November 15, 2015 - Opening his November - December 2015 Newsletter with a measure of Holiday Season gratitude for his constituents, their input and our City, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts welcomes the economic windfall generated annually by Fort Lauderdale’s International Boat Show, issues a blistering warning about the dangers of celebratory illegal fireworks, details a progressive after-school program called P.L.A.Y., cites the City Website for achieving a third place national ranking for government websites, reports City efforts to beat back the autumn King Tide seasonal flooding, credits the Transportation and Mobility Department (TAM) with securing a $42,000 grant to fund three additional painted intersections, notes that the City scored awards for “Small American Cities of the Future 2015/16” in the Overall and Economic Potential categories, invites participation in a combined Open Streets - Winterfest Family Fun Day event on November 22, bids farewell to a relatively uneventful Hurricane Season, and applauds the 300 volunteers who advanced 20 community projects by participating in the October 24 “Make a Difference Day” events. Among the topics parsed in his newsletter, his description of the current King Tide seasonal flooding as “unprecedented” carries a warning - which concerns you!
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Knock the Rust off Governing Docs
 November 1, 2015 - On October 19, 2015, Association Attorney Donna Berger blogged about a threat to associations that never knocked the rust from their governing documents. If the declaration, Bylaws, etc. that anchor an association aren’t regularly updated, the structure and protection they was designed to provide erodes. Berger likens relying on outdated documents to using a map where the topography has completely changed. Getting lost in a statutory Twilight Zone can cost a bundle - payable by unit owners. Over the past few years, lawmakers enacted a litany of new rights and protections for association homeowners - which may not apply to your association - or YOU!
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LaMarca: Enjoy the Ride!
 October 23, 2015 - On April 28, the Broward Commission sought to legalize services provided by transportation network companies (TNCs) by amending the Motor Carriers Ordinance with stiff regulatory requirements for drivers, maintenance standards for their personal vehicles, incremental insurance coverage, even a mandated local business office, prompting the TNCs to suspend access to its online platforms for Broward customers. As Uber recruits pressured reluctant commissioners with a truckload of emails rife with abusive complaints, they conceded to empowering the TNCs to self-regulate, while verifying compliance by perusing their books twice annually. Having successfully engineered the elimination of regulatory roadblocks, the TNCs resumed service in Broward following enactment of an October 13 Ordinance revision amenable to their business model. Read on for LaMarca's take on the sea change...
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Feds OK Beach Project
 October 15, 2015 - Once again, the Galt Mile community is anxiously awaiting the long-delayed Segment II Broward Beach Renourishment. Every non-comatose Galt Mile resident knows the project is scheduled to begin in November 2015 - just days away. Given the shrinking beach’s critical importance to the neighborhood’s economy and their quality of life, Galt Mile homeowners - and their associations - have passionately pursued its rescue for more than twenty years. 50 years - if you harken back to a 1965 entry in the Federal Register, when the 89th U.S. Congress appropriated a then whopping $1,093,000 to flesh out Broward’s severely eroded coast (Section 301 of Public Law 89-298, October 27, 1965). While the Galt Mile has never been this close to a beach fix, diehard skeptics numbed by decades disappointment will refrain from celebrating until they feel new sand between their toes. Here's where the project stands...
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September 2015 LaMarca Letter
October 1, 2015 - In his September 2015 Newsletter, Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca probes the 2016 Broward spending plan (later approved by the County Commission), summarizes the most recent chapter of the County’s political tug-of-war with Uber and Lyft, describes how five deep-pocketed developers armed with political capital hope to bag the Convention Center Hotel, welcomes an early taste of the windfall fueled by the competitive improvements to Port Everglades, and underscores September’s designation as “National Preparedness Month” with events conceived to protect property owners from meteorological mayhem. The following may help fill in some blanks. - read on...
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The Galt Mile Bus Blockade
 September 23, 2015 - About two weeks after the Galt Mile A1A Greenway Project kicked off on July 27, 2015, residents in several local associations noticed daily traffic jams in front of their homes – invariably caused by Broward County buses. Dismayed association officials soon learned that the buses - often parked on both sides of Galt Ocean Drive – weren’t an anomaly. Seeking to minimize traffic impacts on work zones adjacent to planned A1A Greenway improvements, FDOT and the City asked Broward County Transit to shift buses that ordinarily "layover" on A1A - to Galt Ocean Drive. As a result, buses that formed up three and four deep on the east side of A1A just south of 41st Street were now boxing in Galt Mile associations - while threatening their drivers and pedestrians. To find out whether the problem will spread - or end - read on...
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Roberts: Galt A1A; Fire Award; Sharrows
September 15, 2015 - In his September 2015 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts updates his Galt Mile constituents about the improvements currently underway along their section of State Road A1A, applauds Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue for its recognition as a "Class 1" agency by the Insurance Services Organization (and for completing accreditation through the Commission of Fire Accreditation International), explains how the City’s upgraded credit rating will lower the tax bite for debt repayment, reviews a controversial Vacation Rental Ordinance crafted to quell concerns about abusive tenants without financially crippling responsible and compliant landlords, announces the inaugural implementation of “sharrows”, an infrastructure design feature that may help abate runaway cyclist and pedestrian fatalities, invites constituents to fill vacancies on City Boards or Committees and welcomes their attendance at his twice-monthly pre-agenda meetings. Read on...
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LaMarca: Dog Days in District 4
 August 31, 2015 - Following a year of high-testosterone ring toss for control of a County ordinance, the Broward Board and Uber are crafting an endgame that allows both sides to claim victory – and save face. Elsewhere in his August 2015 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca benchmarks a year of speeding cargo to railheads across the US via the Port Everglades Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) - progeny of the Port and the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR), showcases pet-tracking facial recognition technology by Finding Rover, announces the Third Annual Go SOLAR & Renewable Energy Fest, applauds recognition of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) as “Airport of the Year” by the Air Line Pilots Association International, celebrates August as Water Quality Month and invites constituents to "Stay Connected" using County social media. Check it out...
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Galt Mile A1A: Speedway to Greenway
 August 24, 2015 - What a mess. The long-rumored transmogrification of A1A along the Galt Mile is upon us. Since 2006, City and State (FDOT) bureaucrats have been pledging to transform the Galt Mile’s blighted A1A “speedway” into an opulent beach boulevard that safely embraces vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles while appealing to visitors and local residents. When neighborhood residents voted to approve their preferred design option in 2009, recessionary pressures compelled planners to split the venture into two less financially intimidating projects. An initial component that was completed in February, 2013, reduced the number of traffic lanes from 6 to 4, and modernized roadway infrastructure in preparation for a second project meant to “fine tune” traffic control and enhance the route’s appearance. Its successful completion will also deliver on a 6-year old promise to elevate the County's most decrepit stretch of A1A into a thoroughfare worthy of its 2009 designation as a "Florida Scenic Highway." Its about time...
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Beach Lighting: The Code Letters
 July 31, 2015 - When Fort Lauderdale passed its original Beach Lighting ordinance in 2003, official State policy was to dig up turtle nests on heavily populated “donor” beaches and transplant the eggs in mostly barren “recipient” beaches. The City plan backfired when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reversed its policy in 2006, and prohibited moving the nests without good cause. Instead of enforcing its ordinance on stretches of uninhabited beach, Commissioners suddenly faced blacking out heavily populated beach neighborhoods - endangering residents and visitors; drivers and pedestrians; while shredding its tourism economy. Commissioners optimistically assumed that Code officers would enforce the ordinance selectively, suppressing poorly conceived provisions that marginalized public safety. Unfortunately, as Code Managers were expunged amid administrative shake-ups, departmental policy flip-flopped between cooperative outreach and abusive tactics that immersed the ordinance in controversy while impairing its objective. During the past decade, these management lapses were often punctuated with caustic notices threatening civil fines for non-existent or unverified violations. At a July meeting engineered by City Commissioner Bruce Roberts, Code Compliance and Galt Mile officials addressed the latest version of this ill-conceived chronic threat and outlined a plan to quash future incarnations. To connect the dots, read on...
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LaMarca: Summertime in District 4
 July 22, 2015 - In his July 2015 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca laments the threatened departure of transportation network companies (TNCs) Uber and Lyft from Broward County, reviews an honorarium for 28 Broward County centenarians, announces newly available online access to Business Tax Receipts required by the County for all Broward businesses, celebrates July as Park and Recreation Month by citing benefits available in Broward parks, promotes a Defensive Driving Course to curb preventable collisions in deference to National Safety Month, seeks to protect pets from the adverse impacts of stressful Independence Day festivities and recommends a Training Course offered by the Office of Economic and Small Business Development that could equip building trades entrepreneurs with a competitive advantage. Tap in...
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Roberts: Fleet Win; Storm Plan, CO Gas
July 9, 2015 - In his July 2015 message to constituents, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts explains how the City complemented its hurricane preparedness strategy with planned applications for Federal funding, distilled its highly technical Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) into a user-friendly fiscal primer, credits Fleet Services Program Manager Carlos Berriz for the City Fleet clinching the 36th top spot in a field of 38.000 American public fleets, details how the Uptown Link - a shuttle bus launched last summer to service the Cypress Creek corridor - was administratively melded into a Sun Trolley and lists noteworthy municipal events through September. Jumping on two incidents recently splashed in the media as attacks by the “Silent Killer,” Roberts takes a hard look at Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. So should you...
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Galt Mile Sun Trolley: Use it or Lose it!
 June 26, 2015 - Late last year, Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bruce Roberts warned neighborhood association officials of a possible threat to the Sun Trolley’s Galt Mile route. Along with Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca, Roberts serves on the Board of the Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (DFLTMA), the Sun Trolley’s parent agency. Having learned about an inexplicable decline in ridership on the Galt Mile route segment along Oakland Park Boulevard to Federal Highway, which services the Coral Ridge Mall as well as Holy Cross and Imperial Point Hospitals, Galt Mile officials met with interim Sun Trolley Executive Director Tara Crawford following a June 18 Advisory Board meeting. Since a drop in ridership could be used to downsize or end the neighborhood’s local bus service, association officials stressed how truncating the service would burden Galt Mile residents, and explored options to either enhance ridership or mitigate the impact of a service cutback. Here's what happened...
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LaMarca: May - June 2015 Update
 June 14, 2015 - In his May - June 2015 Newsletter, Commissioner Chip LaMarca adds another chapter to last month’s missive about legalizing Transportation Network Companies in Broward. The District 4 Broward Commissioner also describes County plans to open a Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center that will house approximately 400 dogs and cats in a more comfortable environment than many of the homes they might be adopted into. LaMarca closes his message with an infrastructure update. Having rifled a quarterly asset management report filed by FDOT Maintenance Division, the Commissioner applauds the structural health of county bridges. However, the report also reveals some disconcerting data about those spans most often traversed by Galt Mile residents. Take a look...
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Broward Beach Boss Bags Brass Ring
June 1, 2015 - After reviving the dormant Segment II beach project in 2011, former Broward Beach Administrator Eric Myers spent the next 3 years chasing the required State and Federal permits. Having won a hard-fought struggle with FDEP for a State permit, when his crusade for a Federal Permit was taken hostage by NOAA Fisheries, an agency in the Commerce Department, Myers retired - passing the baton to Broward Natural Resource Administrator Nicole Sharp. Joined by District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca, new beach boss Sharp hunted the remaining regulatory brass ring – a Federal Permit to reclaim vanishing Segment II beaches. Since the high-powered politicians recruited by Myers failed to dent the bureaucratic brick wall that cloisters Federal Agencies, Sharp turned to a resource for whom the federal regulatory jungle serves as a playground. It worked. The Segment II beach fix is scheduled to begin in November! Here's how she did it...
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Roberts: Road Fix; CodeRED; High Tides
May 20, 2015 - In his May 2015 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts explains how the Vision Zero Initiative can reverse the city’s astronomical pedestrian fatality rate while enhancing bike safety, offers contact information for reporting a variety of municipal concerns, lists dates when anticipated high tides may spur seasonal flooding in low-lying areas, spells out registration protocols for the CodeRED notification system, applauds Fort Lauderdale’s recent citation by NerdWallet as the 11th Greenest City in America and reviews the Advisory Board seats currently available to prospective District 1 volunteers. Describing a budgeting measure implemented to curb our tax bite, Roberts outlines how microsurfacing will stretch revenues by extending the useful life of municipal infrastructure. However, unless the city can successfully address unanticipated misconceptions about the project's purpose, public appreciation for the ad valorem relief could be marred by a firestorm of disappointment.
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LaMarca: Early Spring Update
May 10, 2015 - In his April – May 2015 message to constituents, Commissioner Chip LaMarca opens by reporting his receipt of an elusive federal permit for the long-awaited Galt Mile beach renourishment and projects a November project kickoff. After applauding county measures to conserve water, LaMarca reviews Broward infrastructure improvements, citing fiscal hallmarks achieved by Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, "Green" Paratransit and Express buses launched by Broward County Transit and construction of a Biogas Cogeneration Electric facility that will morph organic waste into electrical power for the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Pompano Beach. LaMarca also updates the controversial entry of transportation network companies (i.e. Uber, Lyft, etc.) into the Broward market, a local microcosm of a simmering conflict between unregulated web-based services and their traditional brick and mortar counterparts, which may change how the world does business!
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Gypsy Dent Grifters Sting Galt Mile
 April 26, 2015 - On your way out of the supermarket, while juggling groceries earmarked for the trunk, some guy parked next to you points out a dent in your car. Inveighing that this is your lucky day, he holds out a business card and mentions that he is an auto body repair technician who just got home from a long day at the service garage. What might ordinarily cost you $700 - $900 at the auto body shop, he will do for a mere $250. What’s more, you can watch as he restores your vehicle’s former glory. How can you go wrong? After carefully eyeballing his embossed laser-cut business card, you agree. When you wake up tomorrow, and you realize that you actually gave a stranger $250 to destroy the finish on your car, you'll spend the day struggling with whether you should file a police report - or make believe it never happened. You're not alone - Gypsy Dent Scammers have arrived on the Galt Mile!
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Lawmaking Realtors Pursue Profits
April 15, 2015 - Among the most controversial 2015 association bills are House Bill 611 filed by Rep. John Wood (R - Winter Haven) and companion Senate Bill 736 filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel - known as the “estoppel certificate” bills. Owners of properties governed by a community association must provide buyers or lenders with a statement of their financial status with the association prior to selling or refinancing their homes. As per State law (s. 718.116(8), F.S.), a condo seller (usually through a realtor or title company) will ask the association for a summary of his or her property's association debt as of a certain date - known as an Estoppel Certificate. Drafted by realtors and supported by title companies, the legislation was designed to flip the script, and shift the cost of preparing estoppel letters from the realtors’ paying customers (sellers) to the associations – an attempt to saddle the seller’s neighbors (that’s us) with the expense. Not surprisingly, the bills' legislative sponsors are both realtors who will directly benefit if successful. Golly Gee Willikers!!!
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Roberts: Bike Plan, Quiet Zone, Bridges
 April 4, 2015 - In his March - April 2015 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts introduces Lewis Landing as the City’s newest Park, notes technological improvements to Fort Lauderdale’s online Property Information Reporter, applauds the City’s participation in the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly America program, expresses his intention to serialize planned infrastructure improvements in his newsletters - beginning with the Bridge Master Plan and recognizes the Transportation and Mobility Department for having snagged the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization’s prestigious Transit Priority Award. The Commissioner opens his message to constituents with an enigmatic heads-up for those disturbed by paralyzing noise – either from heightened seasonal air traffic at Executive Airport or federally mandated train horns. Ironically, their respective endgames differ as night and day.
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Developer Statutes OK Latent Defects
 March 26, 2015 - When mortgage bankers cold cocked the world economy, and eliminated disposable income from the average family budget, overnight, millions of people could no longer afford their own homes; much less buy a new one. With the housing market at a standstill, developers with time on their hands turned their gaze to Tallahassee, where they are deified by lobbyists and worshipped as campaign cash cows by lawmakers. Fed up with court-ordered penalties for delivering substandard construction, in 2009, developer trade associations embarked on a multi-year strategy to block defrauded homeowners from plundering future profits. Since the courts refused to back off when developers were caught violating State law, they bought play for pay politicians to circumvent the offending statutes. While consumers snoozed, 4 such bills became State Law. Those strange fingers you feel on your wallet belong to a rookie lawmaker whose 2015 bill threatens every Floridian, with a special land mine for association homeowners.
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Galt Presidents Council Kicks Off 2015
 March 18, 2015 - On February 2, the Galt Mile Presidents Council convened its first 2015 meeting at Fountainhead Condominium. The agenda, traditionally packed for the year’s inaugural meeting, addressed a threat to the Galt Mile Sun Trolley, a media driven controversy over the City’s Homeless policy, and a predictable outburst during a Beach Renourishment update. Ordinarily, Presidents Council meetings are kept confidential, ostensibly to promote a free exchange of ideas (which range from revelatory to hysterical). Since many of the issues undertaken at the February meeting are of critical concern to all Galt Mile residents, traditional “discretion” will be set aside. See for yourself...
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LaMarca: March 2015 in District 4
March 5, 2015 - In his March 2015 Newsletter, Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca reviews a regulatory benchmark for Port Everglades, record passenger traffic at Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport, Broward’s environmentally friendly commuter mini-buses, tax incentives for expanding businesses, an FP&L solar energy pilot program, a County adoption program for homeless pets, a Centennial celebration of the 13th Annual Broward Water Matters Day and a County event commemorating National Women’s History Month. Given his unrelenting support for Port Everglades, it’s no coincidence that LaMarca’s March message to constituents opens by applauding a long-awaited Federal green light for infrastructure improvements that will cement the Port’s future as a regional economic powerhouse. Here's Chip...
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Chepo: Cutting the Galt Mile Canopy
 February 20, 2015 - In early November, 2008, Commodore resident José “Chepo” Vega emailed a complaint to the Galt Mile Community Association about the “precarious” state of landscaping along Galt Ocean Drive. A few days later, he followed it up with an offer, exclaiming “While I was walking in front of my building, I saw someone walk into a low hanging tree limb. It could have blinded him. Why doesn’t the City pay attention to the landscaping on our block?” Since Advisory Board members were fed up with a decades-long cycle of neglect and block-wide brownouts followed by unconvincing apologies by Parks officials, when Chepo volunteered his time and horticultural acumen, he was appointed as the neighborhood's first Block Maintenance Liaison. Chepo has pressed, pushed, pulled and prodded City, County and association officials to whip the block into shape. While annually amputating dangerous low-hanging branches, Chepo observed that half the block's trees are gnarled, twisted and puny, resembling runted cartoon mutants. Here's why...
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Roberts: Lobby List, Firehouse, King Tide
February 8, 2015 - After opening his January/February 2015 newsletter with an outpouring of gratitude for the absence of an opponent in the municipal primary - and a plea to support his fellow incumbent Commission candidates - District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts enumerates the City’s stand on issues soon to be undertaken by the Legislature, announces the completion of an interim facility that will temporarily house Fire Station #54 until the permanent structure is erected (City Project #P10914) at 3201 Northeast 32nd Street and outlines how recently implemented infrastructure improvements diminish the adverse impacts of rising sea levels due to Global Warming. Before closing with an offer to help constituents address their municipal concerns, Roberts welcomes Jenni Morejon as the new Director of the Department of Sustainable Development, the parent agency of Building Services and Code Compliance, two City divisions that are shaking off a bumpy history. Read on...
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2015 Galt Mile Wine & Food Festival
 January 30, 2015 - On Saturday, March 7, 2015, the 3rd Annual Galt Mile Wine & Food Festival will unfold in our back yard, resurrecting last year’s sequel to the 2013 inaugural event, when thousands of local residents and visitors were rewarded with a delightfully entrancing weekend afternoon – right across the street. The festival is produced by BocaRaton.Com and The Bites! Network – in partnership with the Galt Mile Community Association. From 4 to 8 PM, attendees will choose from scores of fine artisan wines, craft beers & spirits while enjoying distinctive food tastings; live cooking demonstrations; and authoritative insight into pairing each dish with the perfect libation - as outlined by some of South Florida’s most experienced sommeliers and renowned Top Chefs. To otherwise sample these extraordinary signature offerings, restaurant patrons would have to visit each establishment and order its iconic fare - an exercise that would take months and cost a fortune. Instead, you can spend a lazy Saturday afternoon trying them all, one masterpiece after the other, while strolling across the street from your home. By the way, as per an understanding negotiated by the neighborhood association, attending the event will enhance the value of your home. How? Read on...
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Galt Mile Construction Migraines
 January 19, 2015 - Throughout 2013 and 2014, the Galt Mile was bubbling with construction. Weeks or months after attending Special Assessment meetings convened to fund the improvements, unit owners watched engineers and contractors reincarnate badly eroded building features - preserving the value of their homes and their quality of life. Last year, some of the neighborhood’s largest associations underwent extensive concrete restorations, insuring that Plaza South, SouthPoint and Plaza East remain among the City’s most important properties. The neighborhood association monitors these projects, watching for unanticipated or abusive regulatory obstacles that might unfairly burden assessed unit owners and impede furure improvements for every association. Despite political tripping hazards rooted in turf protection, bureaucratic arrogance or garden variety stupidity, Galt Mile associations survived a tricky year.
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Homestead Express: 2015
  December 29, 2014 - The Florida Constitution provides all legal Florida residents with a tax-saving exemption on the first and third $25,000 of the assessed value of their owner/occupied homes, condominiums, co-op apartments, and other “permanent residences” - if they qualify. Homesteaded properties are eligible for the invaluable “Save Our Homes” tax cap. Also available are a host of traditional and recently added exemptions for seniors, veterans, widows/widowers, active military, the blind, disabled persons and properties with build-outs for Mom, Dad, Grandma and/or Grandpa. Apply for exemptions in person, at an outreach event (Beach Community Center), by mail to BCPA, interactively online or by requesting “homesteads-on-wheels” (for house-bound applicants). Although exemption applications are considered "timely" if submitted by the March 2, 2015 "soft" deadline, they will still be accepted until the September 18, 2015 "hard" deadline if accompanied by any moronic excuse for dragging your feet. If you miss that, a "Good Cause" sob story won't make a difference - you're screwed!!! Learn about the 2015 incarnation of the Homestead Express!
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Galt Mile Holiday Season Leftovers
 December 17, 2014 - As we wend our way through the Holiday Season, events sometimes meld into a blur, and occasionally slip by unnoticed. While their relative impacts are less than critical, the following news snippets are either enlightening, or scratch an itch. In one recent incident, after a disabled Coral Ridge Towers South resident was victimized by a local merchant, his caretaker and a local news personality teamed up to script a final chapter worthy of the Holiday Season. Those with a passing curiosity about what happened to Commissioner “No” will learn the outcome of her latest local endeavor to re-enter public service. Finally, a summarized agenda item from the December GMCA Presidents Council meeting at Plaza South illuminates the status of our long-awaited Beach Renourishment. If you enjoy easy reading, check out these Holiday Season leftovers!
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Galt Mile Sun Trolley - A Bumpy History
December 10, 2014 - While most Galt Mile residents maintain vehicles in the garage or parking deck, our demographics include a larger than average community of dedicated pedestrians. Some lament being barred from a driver’s license by a DMV eye exam. Others evangelize the wellness dividend of endless constitutionals. Few will admit that they were forced to choose between a car, prescribed heart medication and one daily alternative to canned tuna fish. For necessities they can’t reach on foot, they needn’t humble themselves by asking for a lift – they board the Sun Trolley. For scores of our neighbors, the community bus is more than an eclectic party favor, it’s their sole access to medical or “quality of life” resources the rest of us take for granted. For an inside perspective of the Galt Mile Sun Trolley's bumpy history, Read on....
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Galt Mile: Predators vs. Security
 November 29, 2014 - As homeless-related incidents proliferated in the City over the past decade, they also exploded across the Galt Mile, mushrooming from a handful of cordial tithing opportunities to robberies, thefts and assaults. For years, a few well-meaning snowbirds slipped daily handouts to homeless regulars who were fixtures on nearby association or sidewalk benches. As predicted by four consecutive District 1 Police Commanders, these congenial bench dwellers were soon replaced by roving groups of street punks. While investigating a variety of security strategies to beat back the growing threat, the neighborhood association stumbled on an option that fell into the "Goldilocks Zone" of Security Services. Although rated by Security Pundits as "highly effective", the service was among the least expensive alternatives - a serendipitous impact of Galt Mile's tightly packed demographics. After the community's beachfront associations unanimously approved initiating the Galt Ocean Mile Security Patrol in 2006, the crime rate dropped precipitously. Unfortunately, predators who slipped through the cracks have staked out several neighborhood sites, turning them into gauntlets.
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Roberts: Homeless, Bullet Train, A1A Fix
November 20, 2014 - In his November - December 2014 Newsletter, after conveying seasonal tidings, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts announces the construction kickoff for All Aboard Florida’s downtown Fort Lauderdale station, reviews construction progress along A1A, asks constituents to name citizen volunteers worthy of official recognition, applauds NOVA students for recruiting a record number of “Adopt-A-Neighbor” volunteers (who assist homeowners with property improvements) and encourages registration for local CodeRED emergency alerts. After warning about elevated threat levels for storm surge ascribed to seasonal high tides, he concludes with a list of upcoming municipal events. However, in his opening message, Roberts laments an emotionally charged media campaign - orchestrated with the help of politically vested outsiders - and designed to reverse a city policy that balances the needs of the homeless with those of the general public.
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So - Who's Driving the Bus?
 November 10, 2014 - The 2014 general election unleashed a second nationwide Republican wave in the last 15 years. This temperamental political alchemy twice flushed Rick Scott into the Governor’s Mansion by a handful of votes. . By garnering 48.2 percent (2,861,390) of the vote, versus 47.1 percent (2,800,808) for former Governor Charlie Crist, Scott pulled off his paper thin (64,267-vote) repeat victory. In 2010, he ambushed Alex Sink by 61,000 votes. Depending on which side of the aisle they call home, Floridians have Broward voters to either thank, or blame, for the next four years of Scott’s erratic stewardship. It seems that many West Broward voters used Election Day to catch up on their sleep. The following is a rundown of those currently empowered to make decisions on your behalf, and the stats they generated on November 4. Also posted are the voter responses to the 3 proposed constitutional amendments and the 2 Broward ballot questions. Dig in...
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Homeless: New Laws for New Plan
 October 31, 2014 - On July 20, 1993, the City of Fort Lauderdale passed Resolution 93-143, in which Beach Rule 7.5(c) prohibits panhandling, begging and soliciting on the Fort Lauderdale beach and nearby sidewalks. The nation’s first city to prohibit the homeless from begging “in a nonthreatening manner” in a public place, when outraged constitutional watchdogs – spearheaded by the ACLU – heatedly beat a path to the courthouse, the entire nation was dumbfounded when they got the boot. Carefully navigating a First Amendment tightrope, both former City Attorney Harry Stewart and predecessor Cynthia Everett have successfully drafted a half dozen ordinances that curb behavior deemed dangerous, inappropriate, a health hazard, or just plain disgusting (i.e. defecating on the sidewalk). Enacted in conjunction with a revised policy to address homelessness and reclaim city parks and sidewalks commandeered as flophouses. City officials claim that the new policy will deter activities that enable homeless behavior while increasing resources to programs and organizations that address the root causes of homelessness.
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Broward Ballot Backwash
 October 11, 2014 - The 2014 General Election Ballot contains two questions raised by Broward County, one sponsored by the Broward Board of County Commissioners and one proposed by the Broward School Board. Given the ethical tar pit that serves as the Broward County Commission’s historical bioniche (along with numerous County agencies - including the School Board); approving these initiatives without some measure of insight is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot. The following missive will help Galt Milers sort through the two issues. After the official title and ballot summary (as featured on the actual ballot) - we scripted a brief diagnosis of underlying issues surrounding each voter “inquiry”. While most voters will see past the reauthorization oversight glitch in the first ballot question, the second question will epidemically fuel an $800 million Election Day migraine.
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Constitutional Target Practice
October 2, 2014 - On November 4, 2014, as Floridians reconfigure their Federal, State and local governments, Galt Mile residents will wrestle with decisions about their representation on the County Commission (Chip LaMarca or Ken Keechl), in the Florida Statehouse (George Moraitis or Scott Herman), in the Florida Senate (Maria Sachs or Ellyn Bogdanoff) and on the "Hill" (Lois Frankel, Paul Spain or Raymond Schamis). We will also be asked to decide myriad open Judgeships and positions on District Boards and Commissions. Given the limited impact they have on our lives, most voters would rather flip a coin than self-educate about filling more obscure elected positions (County judges, the Water Board, Children's Services, etc.). Unfortunately, since this also holds true for most Ballot questions and proposed Amendments, unscrupulous politicians use them as vehicles for realizing outrageous measures that would otherwise wither under minimal scrutiny. The 2014 ballot houses three proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution and 2 Broward County Ballot questions. Sponsored by tricky doggies, some aren't what they appear to be. Read on...
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LaMarca: Budgets & Buses
 September 24, 2014 - In his Autumn 2014 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca disparages plans by the Broward Commission and Broward County Transit to stick it to Taxpayers – and fare payers. For years, the County Board relentlessly funded an endless quest for pork. When the recession vaporized the seemingly bottomless property tax windfall, it forced a temporary suspension of irresponsible county spending. As the housing market rebounded last year, LaMarca proposes to leave some of the incremental property tax revenues in your pocket. Having finally implemented policies that began reversing years of decline, Broward County Transit (BCT) earned an upswing in ridership. Instead of utilizing increased farebox revenues to finance additional improvements, BCT decided to bang their new customers. Transit Gurus agree that nothing deters ridership like a fare hike. What's wrong with this picture?
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Roberts: Hurricanes, Bus Link, Firehouse
 September 10, 2014 -In his September - October 2014 Newsletter, City Commissioner Bruce Roberts exhorts District 1 constituents to adequately prepare for hurricane season, announces a recently launched Uptown Bus Link that more conveniently connects destination sites in the business district along the Cypress Creek corridor, reveals a new city telephone number for non-emergency public safety calls, acknowledges three Fort Lauderdale beach resorts named in Florida’s Top Ten by travel website “emantravels.com”, applauds recognition by Firehouse Magazine that Fort Lauderdale’s Firehouse 2 was the second busiest in the state and its Engine 8 was the busiest in Florida and number 10 in the nation, asks that constituents protect themselves by exercising prudent public safety measures and concludes with a list of upcoming civic events. His opening reference - a reminder to prepare our families for hurricane season - should disturb some Galt Mile associations - since they haven't updated their hurricane preparedness plan in almost a decade. Here's a test. Do you know anything about your association's Hurricane Plan?
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Docs vs. Glocks
 September 1, 2014 - During a July 21, 2010 medical interview with 26-year-old Amber Ullman, Ocala Pediatrician Dr. Chris Okonkwo asked the Summerfield mother of 3 girls about child-proofing her home. Consistent with 1983 TIPP protocols established by the American Academy of Pediatrics, medical director Okonkwo of Children’s Health of Ocala routinely asks if stairways and backyard swimming pools are gated with childproof locks, if each child has a car seat and bicycle helmet, whether smoking parents do so in the house and if driving teenagers have cell phones. When the physician asked if guns were kept in the home, Ullman went ballistic, prompting Okonkwo to end his tenure as her pediatrician - and triggering a series of cosmic showdowns. Within months, Florida lawmakers passed a law that criminalized free speech in the examining room, as Florida physicians who ask gun owning parents if they store their guns safely can be fined $10,000 or lose their license. Welcome to the Gunshine State!
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A Galt Mile Secret Weapon
 August 14, 2014 - Unless association officials are familiar with what neighboring associations are paying for security personnel, maintenance staffers, bookkeepers, receptionists, department supervisors, general managers, landscapers, etc., the association risks allocating too much or too little to fill open positions. Every competent association Treasurer is keenly aware that poorly managed compensation will skyrocket annual unit owner maintenance assessments. In 1996, Galt Mile Community Association (GMCA) officials explored the benefits of building a database that member associations could use to better manage labor costs. While saving Galt Mile associations untold $millions in the following 18 years, the annual Presidents Council Wage & Salary Survey evolved under the radar. Its time to let in some sunshine. Here's how it works...
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A1A: Final Fix and Facelift
 August 6, 2014 - Shortly after Superstorm Sandy mangled 4 blocks of A1A and sliced away much of the Galt Mile beach, on December 10, 2012, more than 300 local residents, their elected City, County and State officials and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) bureaucrats converged on the Beach Community Center. Since our future, both individually and as a community, hinges on the fate of our beach, we needed to know what remedies were being considered to restore Fort Lauderdale’s devastated coastal infrastructure. FDOT District Secretary Jim Wolfe explained how a turn lane and a greenway would be added to the 2-lane thoroughfare that was hastily carved from the roadway’s 2 surviving southbound lanes. After outlining plans for the $8.3 million short-term fix that was subsequently completed in June 2013, Wolfe said that the long-term solution would feature an elevated roadway bookended with bike lanes, and structural protections that would immunize A1A to future storm damage. Following 18 months of navigating its statutory construction process, FDOT kicked off the final plans to restore A1A on July 28. Here's how they are currently rebuilding Fort Lauderdale's Ocean Highway ...
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LaMarca: Summertime in District 4
 July 27, 2014 - Commissioner Chip LaMarca opens his July 2014 Newsletter with news of a County program conceived to reverse an annual summer spike in the tragic drowning deaths of local children who never learned how to swim. Turning to his older constituents, he warns against being lulled into paralysis by a decade of cyclonic calm (Superstorm Sandy excepted), urging utilization of Broward’s recently enhanced online Hurricane preparedness resources. After recommending a wide range of little known summertime family activities offered in Deerfield Island Park, LaMarca lists a series of "Let’s Talk Transit" meetings (that you already missed) and harkens to new art and performance projects that celebrate the upcoming "Broward 100" Centennial (which you haven’t missed). Given the seasonal inflation of Broward's homeless community, our District 4 Commissioner concludes by describing new homeless initiatives funded by healthy federal grant. See why this should resonate with Galt Mile residents...
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Roberts: Award; Action Plan; Budget
 July 19, 2014 - In his July - August 2014 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts savors municipal accolades bestowed on the City of Fort Lauderdale by the National Civic League. The League’s 1953 Chair, pollster George Gallup, characterized the All-America City Award as “A Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship.” All-America City Award finalists help define their homes by submitting three outstanding community projects. Specifically, the city was recognized for anticipating that a Chinese Menu of neighborhood improvements would ameliorate the failed culture of a school annually distinguished by an illiterate graduating class and transitioning a diurnal commercial storage district into a 24/7 Arts Center – “FAT Village”. A third project, entitled “Northwest Gardens Healthy Places” glorifies a reclaimed neighborhood’s “walkability”, while deliberately omitting how the creative bartering of contractor tax credits was leveraged to build a thriving neighborhood in the heart of a decaying ghetto. Why? Read On...
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LaMarca: Reclaiming Room Nights
 June 30, 2014 - In his June 2014 Newsletter, District 4 Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca advocates stoking one of our County’s key economic engines. Strategically located at Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades tourism nexus, enhancing the County’s aging Convention Center with a dedicated hotel and a facelift will plug a fiscal leak through which the County loses tens of $millions in new business every year. Without an affiliated hotel, the Convention Center is precluded from even bidding on more than one third of the prospective convention opportunities – those that require dedicated lodging. To compete with other second tier convention cities that offer onsite lodging, the Center must offset their lack of a hotel with a laundry list of expensive perks, further squeezing embattled profits. Three prior attempts by the County Commission to correct this competitive shortcoming fizzled, squelched by economic eccentricities, questionable judgment, turf protection... and greed. Number four could prove the charm - if the Broward Board avoids the pitfalls that earmarked those failures!
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The Beach vs. The Bureaucrat
June 22, 2014 - A bureaucratic blood blister that threatened the chronically delayed Segment II Broward beach project with an added 18-month freeze has been excised. To help quash one of the more asinine impediments faced by this snake-bit project, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca scripted major roles for the entire Broward Congressional delegation, both of Florida’s U.S. Senators, the Galt Mile Community Association and an army of Galt Mile residents. With officials in Pompano, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Fort Lauderdale playing bit parts, the eerie plan placed the beach fix back on track for its post-Halloween kickoff. In finessing or slugging their way over, around or through some of the Beach Project's most exasperating, infuriating and pointless obstacles since its inception 49 years ago, LaMarca and retired beach boss Eric Myers got a taste of the frustration experienced by Galt Mile residents for decades. For a tour of the asylum, Read on...
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Fort Lauderdale Tilts at Windmills
 June 12, 2014 - On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) into law. A Keynesian response to the recessionary tar pit in which the previous administration couched our economy, the stimulus package sought to offset the loss of private spending with government spending. In addition to annually salvaging 1.6 million jobs from 2009 to 2012, the fiscal gambit helped avert a looming depression. The Recovery Act also funded a series of Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Challenges, starting with the $1/watt SunShot Challenge, which seeks to make solar power cost-competitive with electricity from fossil fuels by the end of the decade. Obama then launched the EV Everywhere Challenge, which set 2022 as the deadline for creation of a five-passenger electric vehicle that could economically and functionally compete with internal combustion engine vehicles. To help achieve this objective, after assembling a consortium likened to the Manhattan Project for Battery Technology, the DOE funded demonstration and deployment projects across the country (including 4 electric vehicle charging stations fueled by wind turbines in Mills Pond Park). What's more, if this consortium keeps hitting its marks, our planet is in for a wild ride!!!
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Assn Advocates Grease the Wheels
 May 27, 2014 - A majority of the content in the 2014 Omnibus Association Bill was adopted by sponsors Moraitis and Ring from a legislative agenda created by collaborating association officials from across the state and tailored by Community Association advocates. Prior to the Legislative session, these association officials examined the operational pitfalls and regulatory inequities that encumber common interest communities – and characteristically inflate the financial burden on unit owners. With organizational guidance from association advocates, the issues were prioritized and compiled into a legislative wish list. For decades, legislation favorable to association homeowners was enacted once every five or six years. In the five years since 2009, four major association bills were brought to fruition via the above process. While Statehouse Representative George Moraitis (R - Fort Lauderdale) was instrumental in driving this legislative windfall, he had a secret weapon. Working with association officials and the Galt Mile's voice in the Florida Statehouse were a unique cadre of legislative catalysts who call themselves "Association Advocates." As a result of their efforts, Galt Mile residents will enjoy more than a dozen new rights and protections as of July 1, 2014. Read on...
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2014 Omnibus Association Bill
May 19, 2014 - Last year, our District 93 Statehouse Representative George Moraitis teamed with State Senator Thad Altman (R - Melbourne) to pass House Bill 73, the 2013 session’s Omnibus Association bill. Broadly supported by association officials and advocates, the legislation repaired a litany of statutory glitches, erased deadlines for costly elevator and generator retrofits, forged tools to deter foreclosure-related delinquencies, simplified approval for 2-year board terms, strengthened financial reporting requirements for condominiums, approved impact glass windows for hurricane mitigation and shaped a dozen other Association improvements, many of which provided cooperatives with certain rights and protections historically monopolized by condominiums. Having pledged to continue addressing Statutory shortfalls in this year’s session, in February, Moraitis and Broward Senator Jeremy Ring filed 2014 association bills with scores of new rights and benefits, including the extension of several other essential Condominium protections to cooperative homeowners. Unanimously approved in the Statehouse and Senate, READ ON for a comprehensive summary of the new association bill's bag of tricks...
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Roberts: Chlorine; Wind Power; Crime
May 12, 2014 - District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts opens his May 2014 Newsletter with optimistic news about the falling crime rate, describes Mill Pond Park as the City’s “in situ” laboratory for a tech-enhanced sustainable power source, reveals a new email address for Commission meeting input, notes a scheduling change for the Sun Trolley’s Galt Mile route, updates progress towards realizing the projected Schlitterbahn Waterpark, announces a cyclical chlorination cleanup of the City’s Water System, welcomes an improved Lauderserv Citizen Request Management System powered by QAlert technology and applauds a new study that cites Fort Lauderdale as the number 3 municipality in the nation for foreign-born tech entrepreneurs (after Miami and San José, California). While chlorinating the water system is largely a beneficial and safe process, the City should reveal the potential health risks to those with compromised immune systems or undergoing dialysis. For Roberts May 2014 constituent update, Read On...
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LaMarca: Mayors; Vote Site; Navy Days
May 3, 2014 - In his May 2014 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca lists agenda items from a District 4 Mayors Summit, affirms approval for an early voting site convenient to the Galt Mile, announces receipt of a long-awaited federal reimbursement for the South Broward Segment III beach renourishment completed in 2006, discusses in progress transportation projects along State Road A1A and the I-595 Express and recalls Broward Navy Days events during Fleet Week. In this final item, LaMarca refers to the USS New York, a warship fitted with skeletal steel salvaged from the World Trade Center's “Ground Zero” and named after the State and City where an unfathomable catastrophe unfolded on September 11, 2001. 7.5 metric tons of twisted Twin Tower steel forms the bow stem of an amphibious transport designed to fight the war on terror. Read on...
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Animal House: Disability Bill Busts
 April 25, 2014 - During the 2014 Legislative Session, bills were filed in the Statehouse and Senate that would prospectively impact how requested service animals must be integrated into no-pet and pet-friendly community associations. Currently, two Federal Laws – the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) – as well as a Florida Statute (Chapter 413.08, F.S.) dictate how associations must accommodate animals that provide therapeutic benefits to disabled persons. During the past decade, there has also been an epidemic of pet owners who abuse Federal and State disability laws to fraudulently circumvent an association’s no-pet rules. By soliciting documentation evidencing a fictitious infirmity from a complicit medical professional, owners have sought to immunize themselves against association repercussions for harboring a house pet in contravention of the governing documents. Sponsors claimed that the legislation would help clarify Disability entitlements while addressing burgeoning abuse. As occurs with predictable regularity in Tallahassee, they seem to have lost sight of their objective. Read on...
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Roberts: NextDoor, Quiet Zones, Bus Link
April 18, 2014 - In his April 2014 Newsletter, District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts looks at the progress of local Bridge Repairs, a new bus link that better integrates the City's economically burgeoning uptown neighborhoods, a Broward MPO effort to quell growing concern about a serious obstacle to the proposed All Aboard Florida high-speed rail link connecting South Florida and Orlando, availability to District 1 residents of the free NEXTDOOR social networking software (the potential backbone of a virtual "Neighborhood Watch") and recognition by the National Complete Streets Coalition of Fort Lauderdale's 3rd place national ranking for having successfully implemented the program's policies. Although most South Florida residents are aware of the All Aboard Florida (AAF) rail project, familiarity with "Quiet Zones" - as referenced in the newsletter - is largely limited to residents in communities exposed to a daily blast cacophony by locomotive horns. Unless local MPOs along the project's planned route find some grant money, taxpayers will have to fund Quiet Zones to protect adjacent communities. They are not cheap! Read on...
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Florida Home Grown Flood Insurance Fix
 April 4, 2014 - As the Feds mop up the flood insurance nightmare they catalyzed two years earlier, some Tallahassee lawmakers are promoting legislation that would supposedly provide a “robust, competitive, private market alternative to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).” Senate Bill 542, sponsored by Florida Senator Jeff Brandes (R - St. Petersburg), rolls out a welcome mat to private insurers willing to write residential flood policies in Florida. Built on the belief that flexibility will breed competition, Brandes’ bill would provide policyholders with menu options for selecting benefit amounts and deductibles, allowing homeowners to decide how much or how little coverage they want or need to purchase - ranging from a property's full replacement cost to the residual balance on a mortgage. It would also enable carriers to offer a buffet of insurance products from which policyholders can pick and choose, parceling coverage for contents, living expenses, secondary structures, etc. If the bill performs as marketed, it will be rubber-stamped by grateful lawmakers in other States with threatened flood plain communities. If not, the fiscal fate of those constituencies will remain hostage to the kneejerk eccentricities of a conflicted Congress.
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Flood Insurance Wack-A-Mole
 March 25, 2014 - When recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy saddled the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) with a $24 billion debt, the U.S. House and Senate scrambled to pass The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12). Along with extending the program's shelf life by five years, it tightened operational protocols, mandated a plan to repay the Katrina debt, modernized mapping technology and otherwise enhanced its actuarial credibility. Using faulty FEMA affordability projections, bill provisions that eliminated rate subsidies veiled a fiscal time bomb that later triggered homeowner hysteria in 20,000 communities across the Country and mass apoplexy on Capitol Hill. To avoid rate-shocking homeowners with annual premium increases of $2000 to $10,000, and crippling the recovery of tenuous housing markets, Congress fast-tracked relief legislation to the White House, where President Obama signed the bipartisan Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 into law on March 21, 2014. Broward homeowners dodged a bullet!
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LaMarca: D4 Doings, Beach Botch, Vote
March 16, 2014 - In his March 2014 Newsletter, District 4 Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca opens by touring March municipal events in Pompano, Lighthouse Point (his hometown) and Deerfield Beach. The Commissioner closes with a plea to “get out the vote”. Bookended by these District 4 housekeeping pleasantries, LaMarca ignites a flare for constituent help with the long-delayed Segment II beach renourishment. The Broward Shore Protection project mandates regulatory approvals from myriad Federal, State and local agencies. LaMarca and Broward Beach Administrator Eric Myers have been religiously slugging their way through these regulatory minefields. By the end of January, one obstacle remained - a boilerplate biological opinion by NOAA Fisheries. Upon investigating why repeated phone calls, emails and official correspondences went unanswered, they learned that the documentation sent to NOAA Fisheries - a line office in the Department of Commerce - was sitting UNOPENED on a bureaucrat's desk - ostensibly due to insufficient agency resources. Although County officials lack the juice to crack the Federal malaise, LaMarca contends that our Congressional representatives wield the appropriate political capital. That's where you come in. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!
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2014 Pre-filed Association Bills
March 8, 2014 - In 2014, the annual dog and pony show in Tallahassee began on March 4th. As always, lawmakers whose agendas are shaped by the demands of proactive constituents or score-keeping campaign contributors jump-start their legislative wish-list by filing before opening day. This year, Representative George Moraitis filed House Bill 807 (HB 807) on February 4, 2014. Two days later, Senator Jeremy Ring (D - Broward) filed companion Senate Bill 798 (SB 798) in the other chamber. The bills form the early skeleton of the 2014 Omnibus Association Bill. Several Association bills that were pre-filed seek to increase the Safe Harbor limits that enable banks to dodge paying assessments on units frozen in foreclosure limbo. Others address the statutory underpinnings of Commercial Condominiums, the termination of an association, towing junkers left in the association parking deck and long-awaited rights and protections for parcel owners in Homeowner Associations. To see how the 2014 session is shaping up... Read on...
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FLPD: Nailing the Bad Guys with Math
 March 1, 2014 - By crunching data that marries historical consumer behavior with emerging trends, Walmart and Netflix adapt how they tailor their on-shelf product mix to specific events (i.e. what they stock before a hurricane, or after a holiday). Long utilized in business, predictive analytics has now been adapted to fight crime. Using the technology to "stop crime before it happens", the municipalities of Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Rochester, Santa Cruz and Philadelphia ascribe sizable drops in the crime rate to predictive analytics. In January 2013, the City of Fort Lauderdale teamed with IBM to adapt its proprietary advanced analytics module to crime prevention under the company’s “First of its Kind” program, wherein researchers and clients use real-world applications to shake out the wrinkles of cutting-edge technologies. After an anticipated drop in Fort Lauderdale's crime rate, the City plans to implement the technology to streamline every City Department. Welcome to the 21st Century!
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Galt Mile Wine & Food Festival
February 23, 2014 - On Saturday, March 1, 2014, the 2nd Annual Galt Mile Wine & Food Festival will filter through our back yard, resurrecting last year’s blockbuster inaugural, when thousands of local residents and visitors were rewarded with a delightfully entrancing weekend afternoon. The festival is produced by BocaRaton.Com and The Bites! Network in partnership with the Galt Mile Community Association. From 4 to 8 PM, attendees will choose from scores of fine artisan wines, craft beers & spirits while enjoying distinctive food tastings; live cooking demonstrations; and authoritative insight into pairing each dish with the perfect libation - as outlined by some of South Florida’s most experienced sommeliers and brilliant Top Chefs. To otherwise sample these extraordinary signature offerings, restaurant patrons would have to visit each establishment and order its iconic fare - an exercise that would take months and cost a fortune. Instead, you can spend a lazy Saturday afternoon trying them all, one masterpiece after the other, while strolling across the street from your home. By the way, as per an understanding negotiated by the neighborhood association, attending the event will enhance the value of your home. How? Read on...
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Winn-Dixie: Frog Becomes a Prince
 February 16, 2014 - Until recently, the Galt Mile Winn-Dixie has struggled to shed a reputation for sub-par service, product lines befitting a third world banana republic and an environment more conducive to changing tires than handling food. Notwithstanding divergent opinions about the store’s customer service and product availability, raw convenience prompts almost every Galt Mile resident to cruise the aisles on a regular basis. After decades of failed attempts to improve the store, a rupture in natural law elevated the Galt Mile Winn-Dixie into a viable competitor for shoppers long loyal to Publix and Whole Foods. While implementing a marginally successful post-bankruptcy reorganizational comeback, former Winn-Dixie CEO Peter Lynch experienced a revelation. Instead of performing long overdue modest repairs to badly deteriorated stores that ran $1 to $2 million per store, Lynch would spend $5 to $6 million to completely gut the store's shell, and build upscale, attractive markets with product lines tailored to the community - a process called "Transformation". Since the company began developing Transformational stores in 2010, each new store turned a profit. Fortunately, the Galt Mile store was one of a handful selected for this process each year. In short, we lucked out. Check it out - you will not believe your eyes!
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Help Save the Beach!
 February 9, 2014 - Beach renourishment projects require regulatory approvals from myriad Federal, State and local agencies and stakeholders. To comply, Broward Beach Administrator Eric Myers spent the past few years submitting volumes of required documentation, timely responding to redundant agency inquiries and endlesly tweaking project parameters. In turn, every agency with standing approved the Segment II project... except one. Despite having received all the required documentation from Myers, the National Marine Fisheries Service (AKA NOAA Fisheries) - an agency in the Department of Commerce - remained silent. Phone calls, emails and official correspondences went unanswered. Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca repeatedly went to Washington D.C., where he learned that all of Myers' documentation was sitting untouched on a bureaucrat's desk - collecting dust. During a pathetic Potomac "two-step", he was informed that the agency lacked the resources to read the documentation and return an opinion, despite having expeditiously done so for similar projects to the north and south of Segment II (Hollywood and Hillsboro). Since County Commissioners are ill-equipped to awaken dormant Federal bureaucracies, LaMarca and neighborhood association officials agreed that the logjam would only be broken if Galt Mile residents pressured our larger-fisted Federal Lawmakers to disturb the agency siesta long enough to send one lousy boilerplate opinion to the County. In short, WITHOUT YOU - OUR BEACHES WILL NOT BE FIXED!!! Read on to learn how you can help save our beach!!!
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LaMarca: 2013 - The Year in Review
January 30, 2014 - In his first Newsletter of 2014, Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca takes us on a 12-month jaunt through the challenges he faced in 2013. Long concerned for the wellbeing of Veterans, LaMarca opens by radiating satisfaction for having engineered a free Broward Bus Pass for low-income Vets and participating in many of last year’s Fleet Week events - despite the Fleet’s conspicuous absence due to cost-cutting measures in the Military. LaMarca outlines his involvement in municipal events across his District 4 domain - including a mid-Summer Resource Fair in Deerfield Beach, the redevelopment of Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach (and thwarting the planned departure of its popular Beach Library from the Barrier Island), the evolution of a Culinary Arts District in Oakland Park, a “bridge to Pier” revitalization project along Commercial Boulevard in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, and the reclamation of storm-damaged A1A in Fort Lauderdale. Touching on Beach Renourishment and Port Everglades, LaMarca also revisits his commitment to enhancing the County's critical infrastructure while celebrating a limited victory against the often fatal practice of texting while driving. Read on for 2013 - the Year in Review!
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Roberts: Algorithms; NCIP; New Bridge
 January 23, 2014 - Commissioner Bruce Roberts opens his February 2014 newsletter by rolling out the welcome mat to new constituents from Laudergate Isles and Bal Harbour who were shifted into his jurisdiction - after the 2010 Census documented a sizable population disparity in the City's four Commission Districts. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department’s decision to beat back a rising crime rate with predictive analytics represents a paradigm shift in local law enforcement. Instead of beleaguered Police analysts pouring through thousands of reports in criminal justice databases to uncover crime connections, an IBM algorithm will crunch the data almost instantaneously. In every City where the technology was implemented, the crime rate plummeted. While it doesn't predict crime, as occurs in the Sci-Fi epic "Minority Report", it substantially increases the opportunity for Police Officers to be in the right place at the right time to either disrupt criminal activity or make quality arrests. Listed among the planned NCIP projects in the Commissioner's newsletter, a replacement of sidewalks throughout the Galt Mile neighborhood has been approved by the City, although it has neither been scheduled - nor funded. Read on for the whole update...
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Fort Lauderdale Water Park
 January 10, 2014 - When the City of Sarasota hijacked the Baltimore Orioles spring training program in 2008, the vacated Fort Lauderdale Stadium wound up in the City Commission’s lap. They could have either held a garage sale to attract another club, which would mean fixing it up and taking a beating on the rent, or consigning the once proud facility to a slow death hosting little league finals. Although City Commissioners endorsed a Schlitterbahn Development Group plan to redevelop the property into a 64-acre world class Water Park at a June 15, 2010 Commission meeting, it melted down when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) refused to consent, as required by the 1947 agreement that conveyed the property to the City. Now that the City and Schlitterbahn have finally hammered out mutually agreeable terms with the FAA, the revived plan will transform Lockhart Stadium into a state-of-the-art tournament-sized multi-use athletic field that will permanently house the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, an immense futuristic Water Park, a Sports Village and a Resort featuring tree-top cabins with five-star accommodations - right down the block on Commercial Boulevard!!!
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A TRANSPORTATION CELEBRATION - On WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016, all Galt Mile residents are invited to attend A TRANSPORTATION CELEBRATION from 5:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m. at the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum at 1527 SW 1st Ave., Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Join Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca; City Commissioner Bruce Roberts; James Donnelly Chairman, Broward Workshop Founder & CEO, Castle Group; Samuel E. Poole, III Partner, Berger Singerman; for a 'Hip to Jive' event that will focus on celebrating past accomplishments and embracing the future of transportation and economic growth in Broward County. Bringing guests back to the Roaring 20's, this event will feature Great Gatsby-Themed Décor, Light Fare & Drinks, Swing Band & Flapper Dancers. MOST IMPORTANTLY, EVERY GALT RIDER is a VIP Guest - and won't have to pay the $25 fee to attend. What's more - if you lack transportation, they will arrange it for you. For more information, call Laura Cromarty at (954) 294-1889, or Click HERE to Email or CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
 ORLANDO MEMORIAL SERVICE - On JUNE 17, 2016 at 1 PM, the City of Fort Lauderdale will honor the victims of the Orlando tragedy at a special Memorial Service. Entitled "United with Orlando - Standing for Equality". The service will take place at the Parker Playhouse (707 Northeast 8th Street) in Fort Lauderdale. Convened to show support for the City of Orlando, the LGBT community, and all who have been affected by this horrific act, in uniting against violence, terror, and hatred, the event is dedicated to promoting healing through tolerance, inclusion, and acceptance. Send a personal message to Orlando by signing the 4'x12' banner at the auditorium entrance. Also, the Blood Mobile will be stationed on site for those interested in donating blood. CLICK HERE for more information. CLICK HERE to download the Memorial Service Program.
 ZIKA VIRUS ALERT - On FEBRUARY 12, 2016, the State announced that the ZIKA VIRUS hit Florida, beginning with more than a dozen confirmed cases. A few weeks later, 55 cases were reported - and more on the way. Carried by the AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO, the virus can afflict newborn babies with MICROCEPHALY, a neurological disorder that results in babies born with abnormally small heads, causing severe developmental issues and sometimes death. Although the mosquito migration cannot be controlled, associations can proactively protect the community by aggressively addressing this plague with the association's pest control contractor. For more information, call Bob LaMendola of the Florida Department of Health in Broward County at 954-213-0607, 954-290-9207, or CLICK HERE for prevention tips from the Florida Department of Health (ASSOCIATIONS - PLEASE DOWNLOAD, PRINT AND POST ON BULLETIN BOARD).
 BOIL WATER ALERT LIFTED! - On MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2015, the State recommended that a Boil Water Advisory remain in effect. After discovering e-coli in a raw, untreated sample from a ground well that has been taken out of service, the Florida Department of Health in Broward County continues to recommend that the precautionary boil water advisory remain in effect for water customers in the City of Fort Lauderdale, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Oakland Park, Port Everglades Authority, Village of Sea Ranch Lakes, Wilton Manors and sections of Davie and Tamarac (East of State Road 7/ 441). On Tuesday, August 11, at 2:30 PM, THE ALERT WAS LIFTED. For more information, call 954-828-8000, or CLICK HERE to Fort Lauderdale website.
 NORTH BEACH ART GALLERY 4TH ANNUAL CAR SHOW - On APRIL 25, 2015 from 4 PM to 8 PM - The North Beach Art Gallery (at 3334 NE 34 Street) is hosting its 4th Annual Car Show to benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation. Live entertainment by Rockabilly Band: Slip and the Spinouts. Classics, Hot Rods, Rat Rods, Exotics & Specialty. Raffle & Silent Auction, Artistic Vendors and food. - For meeting information, call 954-667-0660, email at info@nobegallery.com or CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
 COMMISSIONER BRUCE ROBERTS TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING - APRIL 16, 2015 - from 7 PM to 8 PM - Talk to District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts about programs, services or ideas to improve District 1 - and the City of Fort Lauderdale. Many District 1 Residents with listed phone numbers will receive a call prior to the start of the meeting. Neighbors can also call toll free (888) 409-5380 to join the conversation. - For meeting information, CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
 MAYOR JOHN P. “JACK” SEILER TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING - MARCH 24, 2015 - from 7 PM to 8 PM - Talk to Mayor Seiler about City programs, services or ideas to improve Fort Lauderdale. Residents with listed phone numbers will receive a call prior to the start of the meeting. Neighbors can also call toll free (888) 409-5380 to join the conversation. - For meeting information, CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
 GALT LIBRARY CELEBRATION - FEBRUARY 12, 2015 - You are invited to a "WE LOVE OUR GALT LIBRARY" celebration from 2 PM to 4 PM on FEBRUARY 12 at the Galt Mile Reading Center (3403 Galt Ocean Drive). Sponsored by Friends of the Galt Mile Reading Center, the party will feature THE GALT PLAYERS performing Monologues and original short plays by INEZ GELLER - and Directed by Jeff Gaines. For Information, CLICK HERE.
 CORAL RIDGE TOWERS SOUTH - Annual White Elephant Sale
Coral Ridge Towers South will be hosting its huge, annual White Elephant Sale on SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2015 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM at 3333 NE 34th Street. Thousands of items, including jewelry, collectibles, household items, etc. will be available.. All are welcome!!! For more information, please Click Here to E-mail Marie Altenburg
FT LAUD FIRE-RESCUE EBOLA DEMO - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014 - The City of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue will conduct a demonstration to showcase response preparedness to Ebola. On Thursday, October 23, 2014 at 1:30 PM at Fort Lauderdale Fire Station 53 (2200 Executive Airport Way) in Fort Lauderdale. Haz-Mat crews dressed in level C protective gear - as well as Broward Health representatives - will be on site to answer any questions. The Hazardous Materials truck will also be available for viewing. For more information, call Deputy Fire Chief Timothy C. Heiser at 954-298-6922 OR CLICK HERE to email OR CLICK HERE to Official Notice.
 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS FORUM - SEPTEMBER 27, 2014 - from 11 AM to 12 NOON at the Galt Mile Reading Center (3403 Galt Ocean Drive) - Get important, nonpartisan information about the amendments and questions on the November 4 ballot. For Information, CLICK HERE or call Lynne Joshi at 954-563-3685 or CLICK HERE to EMAIL.
 BOOK SALE - SEPTEMBER 15, 2014 - from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Galt Mile Reading Center - at 3403 Galt Ocean Drive - Books, CDs, DVDs, Videos - HARD COVER 3 for $1 ($.50 each) PAPERBACKS 6 for $1 ($.25 each). For Information, Call 954-357-7840.
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2014 - Reception and Networking at 6:00 PM; Address by Mayor Jack Seiler at 7:00 PM. The City of Fort Lauderdale will host the annual STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS on Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 6 PM in the new Huizenga Pavilion at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 S.W. 5th Avenue). For meeting information, CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
GALT LIBRARY OPEN HOUSE - AUGUST 14, 2014 - You are invited to an OPEN HOUSE celebration from 2 PM to 4 PM on August 14 at the Galt Mile Reading Center (3403 Galt Ocean Drive). Sponsored by Friends of the Galt Mile Reading Center, celebrating the 40th year of BROWARD LIBRARY - We ARE STILL HERE!!! Refreshments - FREE. For Information, Call Marlene Barnes at 954-357-7853 or CLICK HERE.
 FREE MOVIE DINE-IN NIGHT - JUNE 25, 2014 - Sun Trolley invites you to a MOVIE, an Entree and a Fountain Drink - ALL FREE - down the block at the CORAL RIDGE 10 MOVIE THEATER - Choose a movie from THIS FLYER, print the flyer (ITS YOUR TICKET), CLICK HERE to RSVP for the movie you selected and bring your printed copy of the flyer to the CORAL RIDGE 10 MOVIE THEATER at 290 NE 3rd Ave in the CORAL RIDGE MALL (NO CAR? You can flag the Sun Trolley for a lift). You enjoy a movie, a meal and a drink - for FREE!!! - For information, call 954-761-3543 or CLICK HERE to the Sun Trolley Movie Info Page.
NORTH BEACH ART GALLERY 3RD ANNUAL CAR SHOW - RAIN DATE: JUNE 14, 2014 - from 6 PM to 10 PM - The North Beach Art Gallery (at 3334 NE 34 Street) is hosting its 3rd Annual Car Show to benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Foundation. Live entertainment by Rockabilly Band: Slip and the Spinouts. Hot Rods, Rat Rods, Classics, Exotics, Specialty. Raffles and Artistic Vendors. - For meeting information, call 954-667-0660, CLICK HERE to email or CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
PUBLIC MEETING - TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2014 - Starts at 6:30 PM - The City of Fort Lauderdale will host a public meeting to discuss the recently completed Tortuga Festival and provide information regarding the upcoming Great American Beach Party and Memorial Day weekend activities. The public is welcome to attend and encouraged to provide input and feedback. - For meeting information, CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
VICE MAYOR BRUCE ROBERTS TELEPHONE TOWN HALL MEETING - APRIL 8, 2014 - from 7 PM to 8 PM - Talk to Vice Mayor & District 1 City Commissioner Bruce Roberts about programs, services or ideas to improve District 1 - and the City of Fort Lauderdale. Many District 1 Residents with listed phone numbers will receive a call prior to the start of the meeting. Neighbors can also call toll free (855) 269-4484 to join the conversation. - For meeting information, CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
BOOK SALE - MARCH 31, 2014 - from 10 AM to 2 PM at the Galt Mile Reading Center - at 3403 Galt Ocean Drive - Books, CDs, DVDs, Videos - HARD COVER 3 for $1 ($.50 each) PAPERBACKS 6 for $1 ($.25 each). For Information, Call 954-357-7840.
GALT LIBRARY CELEBRATION - FEBRUARY 13, 2014 - You are invited to a "WE LOVE OUR GALT LIBRARY" celebration from 2 PM to 4 PM on February 13 at the Galt Mile Reading Center (3403 Galt Ocean Drive). Sponsored by Friends of the Galt Mile Reading Center, for the second consecutive year - our Galt Library was recognized for outstanding achievement in the provision of Cultural Programming. NOT TOO SHABBY FOR SOME SLEEPY RETIREES!!! Speaker: Broward Library Director SKYE PATRICK. For Information, CLICK HERE.
A1A GREENWAY MEETING - DECEMBER 11, 2013 - from 6 PM to 8 PM - Diana Alarcon of the Transportation & Mobility Department will explain how plans for the A!A Greenway were revised - and CORRECTED - following the October 8 meeting. The revisions address widespread concerns by residents and merchants about problematic changes announced at the earlier meeting. Please show your support for the corrected plan by attending this important meeting. - For meeting information, call 954-828-3764, CLICK HERE to email or CLICK HERE to Web Notice.
 MOMENTS IN TIME GRAND REOPENING - OCTOBER 12, 2013 - from 7 PM to 10 PM - Come celebrate fall and the grand reopening party of MOMENTS IN TIME at 3429 GALT OCEAN DRIVE. Enjoy Cocktails and Passed Hors Oeuvres as we celebrate the New Menu, New Interior and the Same Great Service. Striving for Perfection in the Art of Food - For information, call 954-390-6095 or CLICK TO EMAIL.
 2013 FirstService Residential South Florida Conference & Exposition - OCTOBER 11, 2013 - from 7:45 AM to 5 PM at the WESTIN DIPLOMAT RESORT & SPA (3555 South Ocean Drive) in Hollywood - FirstService Residential – formerly known as The Continental Group - is hosting the 2013 FirstService Residential South Florida Conference & Exposition - a one day event that will bring the property management community together. It’s the chance for decision makers representing every facet of the industry to connect, share insight, discover new opportunities, forge new relationships and build new partnerships. For Information, Call 954-378-2302 or CLICKING HERE to email.
STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS - AUGUST 21, 2013 - City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler will deliver the "STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS" on AUGUST 21, 2013 at Orange Bowl Field at Carter Park (1450 W. Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311). Featuring the Dillard High School Marching Band, Cheerleaders, and Air Force JROTC, all are invited to attend the Advisory Board Reception and Networking from 6 - 7 PM followed by the Address at 7 PM. PLEASE RSVP by calling (954) 828-4752 or CLICKING HERE to email.
 LEAVE THE FIREWORKS HOME!!! - City of Fort Lauderdale Fire Marshal David Raines has asked Fort Lauderdale residents who plan to attend the July 4th celebration on the beach to leave their personal fireworks home and "let the professionals provide the fireworks show for you." To enforce the prohibition, the fire department will be joined by a police presence, fire inspectors, and lifeguards who will not permit the lighting of fireworks of any kind - and hopefully avoid the injuries that annually send spectators into local Emergency Rooms - or WORSE. CLICK HERE to read the Fire Marshal's sensible request.
FLPD CLICK IT OR TICKET - The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is participating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Click it or Ticket Campaign.” Every year during the annual Memorial Day Weekend, law enforcement agencies join forces day and night, from coast-to-coast, for an enforcement blitz to help increase the national seat belt usage rate. This campaign will run from MAY 20 to JUNE 2. While the campaign ends in June, FLPD will ticket scofflaws at an accelerated rate going forward. ITS THE LAW AND IT SAVES LIVES. TICKETS ARE EXPENSIVE AND YOU ARE ENTITLED TO SURVIVE - SO BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELT - DON'T TEXT WHILE DRIVING - AND YOU WON'T GET NAILED!!!
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 Sea Turtle Lighting Meeting - Fort Lauderdale is considering making a change to its Turtle Lighting ordinance to insure that it addresses the safety and security needs of people as well as the survival of sea turtles. On MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2013, a meeting will be held in the Beach Community Center (3351 NE 33 AVE) from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM to exlain the changes. Does Downtown Fort Lauderdale need to be dark for 9 months each year???
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 Here Come the Judges! - On WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 2013 from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. in the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) Law and Learning Center at 5297 W. Copans Road, Margate, FL. Join us for a Unique Event where Judge Alan Marks and a panel of esteemed Broward County Judges will answer your most pressing questions! For information, Click Here or call Julie Fishman at 954-213-0979 - or eamil her at jfishman@canfl.com.
CAN Legislative Town Hall Meeting - On FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 2013 from 12 Noon to 3 P.M. in the Community Advocacy Network (CAN) Law and Learning Center at 5297 W. Copans Road, Margate, FL. CAN’s Annual Legislative Town Hall is where a panel of your legislators and the CAN Lobby Team will join us for a panel discussion of the many issues that were debated, discussed and passed up in Tallahassee this year. For information, Click Here or call Julie Fishman at 954-213-0979 - or eamil her at jfishman@canfl.com.
Sun Trolley Expands Galt Route - Commissioner Bruce Roberts JULY, 2012 Newsletter reveals that the Galt Mile Route has been expanded to include Saturdays and Sundays. Earlier this year, the Sun Trolley route south to the Galleria - providing local residents with cheap and easy transportation to a world-class shopping venue. Galt residents can also access the Harbor Shops and Las Olas Boulevard. For information, call Patricia Zeiler at Sun Trolley - 954-761-3543 - or eamil her at pzeiler@suntrolley.com.
Presidents Council: Sea Turtles & Sandy - DECEMBER 2012 - On December 3, 2012, the Galt Mile Community Association convened a 7:30 PM Presidents Council Meeting at Plaza East Condominium. To address a growing community anger stemming from abusive and enigmatic Sea Turtle policies, an authoritative forum was configured to explain how these concerns will be resolved going forward. Since our future, both individually and as a community, is inextricably tied to the fate of our beach, we needed to know what remedies were being considered to restore Fort Lauderdale’s collapsed coast, 4 soggy blocks of A1A and our Galt Mile beach.
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 New FEMA Flood Maps Threaten to Skyrocket Galt Rates After 14 years, FEMA redrew Broward County Flood Insurance Rate Maps "FIRMs" that determine whether or not Galt Mile associations will have to pay $hundreds of thousands in future Flood Insurance premiums. This will cost every Galt Mile unit owner thousands of dollars. On NOVEMBER 16, 2011, those residents who attend a FEMA-sponsored meeting at the HERB SKOLNICK CENTER at 800 SW 36 Avenue in Pompano Beach from 4 PM to 8 PM will have a chance to prevent the impending assessments. Click Here to the Broward County FLOOD MAP Web page.
Galt Mile Reading Center Beats the Heat - On MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2011, County Commissioner CHIP LAMARCA addressed a Galt Mile Community Association Presidents Council meeting in the Commodore Condominium. After reviewing County progress in Beach Renourishment and Public Safety, he informed attendees that the Galt Mile Reading Center survived the County Budget process. THroughout Broward County's two September final Budget hearings, LAMARCA nursed the Library passed deep spending cuts that threatened its survival. Although the District 4 County Commissioner earlier advised Library supporters that he would find a political solution to salvaging the Galt Reading Center, he expressed gratitude for the support provided by the huge contingent of Galt Mile residents attending the hearings. Click Here to the Galt Library web page.
 Galt Mile Reading Center Meeting / Celebration - On THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2011, from 2 PM to 4 PM, a combination meeting and celebration will take place at the GALT MILE READING CENTER / LIBRARY. Refreshments will be provided by Friends of the Galt Mile Library in celebration of reaching their recruitment target of 200 new mwembers. County Commissioner CHIP LAMARCA will adddress the Library's survival, a mission he adopted shortly after being elected to the District 4 County Commission seat. Click Here for more information.
 Sprinkler Retrofit Relief Bill Becomes Law - On June 1, 2010, Governor Crist surprised and delighted the 2 million proponents of Senate Bill 1196 - the omnibus association bill - by signing the bill into law. After all, the bill intensified an agenda that had already prompted two gubernatorial vetoes. The legislation’s passage has all the trappings of a Hollywood feel-good epic. To survive, the Bill had to circumvent significant obstacles erected by many of the State’s most formidable lobbies. For the first time in over a decade, controversial Association legislation didn’t self-destruct in deference to directives handed down by special interests. Since the legislative dynamic in Tallahassee hasn’t undergone some cathartic sea change and lobbyists still command enormous resources, HOW DID LEGISLATION WITH SO MANY POWERFUL ENEMIES SURVIVE A PROCESS ORDINARILY CONTROLLED BY THE HIGHEST BIDDER?
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 New No Soliciting Law - With some 1,600 "guests of the city" fluffing the bushes each night before nodding off in public parks (incremental to the 7,000 squirreled away in shelters), the unprecedented number of panhandling complaints clogging City Hall finally reached a critical mass. Enacted by the City Commission on MAY 1, 2012, the City of Fort Lauderdale’s new anti-soliciting ordinance precludes panhandling in certain zones, ostensibly to protect the privacy rights of citizens while engaged in particular site-specific activities. To sidestep First Amendment land mines, retiring City Attorney Harry Stewart stitched together a patchwork quilt of prohibitions that, when taken as a whole, criminalize panhandling in the entire downtown business district.
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 Calypso - A Deepwater Port and pipeline is planned for installation directly of the Galt Mile Beach. Its purpose is to offload liquid natural gas (LNG) from tankers into the Calypso Pipeline which will make landfall at Port Everglades. Past incidents in Cleveland and Algeria in which the gas ignited destroyed entire city blocks and killed everyone within the heat flux perimeter. Only Governor Crist can VETO this potential holocaust. The articles about the Calypso Project on the GMCA web site divulge the catastrophic safety hazards, damage to the maritime environment and the mandated cost to Broward taxpayers.
CLICK HERE to when Commissioner Teel first revealed project in December 2007
CLICK HERE for what happened at an April 2008 Presidents Council Calyposo presentation in Plaza South
CLICK HERE for how the City passed an ANTI-Calypso Resolution in May 2008
CLICK HERE to learn what happened at the Dania Calypso Meeting
CLICK HERE to see what happened at the Broward Legislative Delegation Calypso Workshop in August 2008
CLICK HERE to review the world-wide damage done by SUEZ, the Calypso parent company
CLICK HERE to read the environmental concerns of authoritative conservationist Michael Leech
CLICK HERE to read about huge new domestic shale gas deposits
CLICK HERE to read how the Governor stopped Calypso
CLICK HERE to informative LNG Links
CLICK HERE for more extensive LNG Links
CLICK HERE to see Resolutions and Letters opposing the Calypso Project
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 2011 Galt Mile Food Drive - In celebration of another successful effort, Executive Director Scott Woodburn of the Cooperative Feeding Program sponsored an April 9, 2010 awards event at the St Lawrence Gallery on A1A. Association volunteers and other local program supporters that were instrumental in delivering the most impressive result in the Galt Mile Food Drive's 5-year history. After calculating the final results, Woodburn exclaimed that this year's effort yeilded a record of 25,723.0 points - surpassing last year total by almost 6,000 points. A point represents one pound of food (or sundries) or one dollar. Galt Ocean Club is Grand Champion for total points (6,096 points and 28 pts per unit). Edgewater Arms Cooperative Association recorded the best statistics for total points per unit (5,863.5 points and 69 pts per unit). Following the trophy-winning Grand Champion was Edgewater Arms, CRT South, CRT Original, Commodore, Ocean Summit, Galt Towers, Playa del Sol, L'Hermitage II, CRT East and Regency Tower. The equivalent of almost 26 tons of collected food will help feed the recession-swollen ranks of hungry Broward families.
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 Please! - When you take your pet for a stroll down the Drive - please clean up afterwards. Its nothing less than inhumane to expect Fido to do all the work! Lets keep the Galt Mile clean!
 Free Turtle-Safe Lighting Review - MAY 2007 - On TUESDAY, MAY 22, Turtle-Safe Lighting experts from Florida Fish and Game will be offering FREE lighting reviews for Galt Mile Associations. They will make INEXPENSIVE suggestions and recommendations that will insure compliance with the City Ordinance WITHOUT sacrificing safety and security. Participation is voluntary. CALL MARIO SOTOLONGO at 954-828-6326 or CLICK HERE to email.
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 Ocean Rescue - Over the years, the Galt Mile has suffered its share of beach fatalities from Rip Currents! CLICK HERE to read about an unfortunate example. The CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE OCEAN RESCUE now maintains a web page that offers the current beach hazards, including Rip Currents, Marine Pests, Intracoastal conditions and the Beach Warning Flag daily designation. CHECK HERE before you - or the kids - go to the beach!
CHECK OCEAN RESCUE DAILY HAZARD REPORT or
Read Recent Incident Report
 CODE RED - The City of Fort Lauderdale has instituted the CodeRED® Emergency Notification System -- a high-speed phone communication service for emergency notifications. This system allows the City to telephone either all subscribers or geographically-targeted areas of the City in case of an emergency situation that requires immediate action (such as a boil-water notice, missing child, evacuation notice, utility outage, fires or floods, bomb threat, hostage situation, chemical spill or gas leak). It then delivers a recorded message to either a live person or an answering machine, making three attempts to connect to any number. ITS FREE!!!
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Bus to Holy Cross - Car being fixed? Stuck in the house? You don’t have to hang about, waiting for someone to take you to Targets, the Beach Community Center or the Fort Lauderdale Beach area. For a quarter, you can comfortably travel to these locations all day during the week and on the weekend you can go downtown - for free - day and night! Now you can also ride to HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL in comfort and safety - FOR 25 CENTS! Starting APRIL 9, 2007, the Galt Ocean Mile Sun Trolley route will be extended to HOLY CROSS HOSPITAL all day Monday through Friday.
Read New Galt Mile Route Info
New Galt Route Map
New Galt Mile Timetable
 Flu Shots - Influenza Season has arrived - time to protect yourself! CLICK HERE to Locate Flu Shot Clinics.
Click for Flu Shot Locators
 Hurricane Claims Deadline - The Statute of Limitations to pursue a claim for property damage resulting from HURRICANE KATRINA will expire midnight, AUGUST 25, 2010 and for HURRICANE WILMA on OCTOBER 24, 2010. For Hurricane information, go to the HURRICANE PAGE. Available are up to the minute HURRICANE ADVISORIES and a huge section of useful HURRICANE LINKS.
For Additional Info
 Citizens Threatens Associations
In December, 2011, Florida Insurance Agents launched a campaign to inform some beachfront condo and cooperative clients that their rates are about to explode. Florida Governor Rick Scott turned his efforts to pressuring the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board into dumping policies. By capping coverage at $1 million for buildings where more than 25 percent of units are rentals, the State's insurer of last resort will vitiate coverage for certain beachfront associations. Scott's appointees to the Citizens' Board characterized the rates paid by beachfront condos as "among the most inadequate rates that Citizens has anywhere.”
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 Lawmakers OK Construction Defects
From 2007 through 2012, Florida courts correctly ruled that developers were not entitled to saddle home buyers and their associations with substandard or defective construction, reinforcing longstanding implied warranties. Despite its pendency before the Supreme Court of Florida, construction industry lobbyists "rewarded" lawmakers for filing legislation that shielded developers from the legal repercussions of ignoring the building code. If a defective roof caves in ten minutes after the closing, you'd better find an umbrella. No class of service provider has ever been so fully immunized against negligence, malpractice and code violations. Not surprisingly, on APRIL 27, 2012, Governor Scott signed it in a heartbeat.
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 IMPACT RATED WINDOWS - The recent intensification of HURRICANE SEASON presents a new threat to Galt Mile residents and Associations. Protecting ourselves and our homes from this threat has become an urgent priority. The Florida Division of Emergency Management admonishes, “The most important precaution you can take to reduce damage to your home and property is to protect the areas where wind can enter. According to recent wind technology research, it’s important to strengthen the exterior of your house so wind and debris do not tear large openings in it. You can do this by protecting and reinforcing these five critical areas: ROOF | STRAPS | WINDOWS | DOORS | GARAGE DOORS” The Galt Mile Community Association, in an effort to assist residents and Associations to better protect themselves, published a series of articles about IMPACT WINDOWS, the only glazing able to effectively withstand hurricane force winds and the associated debris. “Through a Glass Darkly” gives scope to the issue. “The Regency Tower Window Project” describes how a member Association successfully tackled the problem. A forum hosted by the Presidents Council about IMPACT WINDOWS is reviewed in the “GMCA Presidents Council Windows Forum”. An explanation of the Code and associated nomenclature is offered in “The Miami Protocols”. CLICK HERE to check out various links to WINDOW INFO. PLEASE TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THIS CRITICAL ISSUE!
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 TALLAHASSEE ARCHIVES - Any legislation oozing out of Tallahassee that impacts our homes, rights or lifestyles is reviewed in the Tallahassee page. Each year, the info is placed in the Tallahassee Archives. To see what happened in 2014, Click Here. To see what happened in 2013, Click Here. To see what happened in 2012, Click Here. To see what happened in 2011, Click Here. To see what happened in 2010, Click Here. To see what happened in 2009, Click Here. To see what happened in 2008, Click Here. To see what happened in 2007, Click Here. To see what happened in 2006, Click Here. For 2005, Click Here. For 2004, Click Here. Same with 2003, simply Click Here. To go to the Tallahassee Archive Index, Click Here.
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2015 POLITICS - TALLAHASSEE - Every year, we send an assortment of well-educated men and women to Florida’s State Capitol to represent us. They speak for us, act on our behalf, educate themselves about importatnt issues, learn how to work together and try to execute productive resolutions. Sometimes, their reasons for being there differ from those given to their constituents prior to Election Day; when this occurs, its usually a good time to consider “changing the guard”. Legislation affecting Galt Mile residents oozes out of Tallahassee annually, often unnoticed. The issues surrounding that legislation will be explained in this new TALLAHASSEE POLITICS SECTION. Before next year's legislative session, the articles will be relegated to the site's archives, setting the stage for the new session.
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 HURRICANE SEASON - BONNIE, CHARLEY, FRANCES, IVAN, JEANNE, KATRINA, WILMA! - We survived the GALT MILE's most active series of HURRICANE SEASONs. PLEASE look over the HURRICANE PAGE. Available are up to the minute HURRICANE ADVISORIES and a huge section of useful HURRICANE LINKS. MOST IMPORTANT - GARY A. POLIAKOFF, a pioneer in the field of Condominium Law, has executed a DISASTER PLAN tailored to the needs of GALT MILE ASSOCIATIONS AND THEIR RESIDENTS! BEFORE THE STORM speaks to the preparation necessary to avoid being victimized by unfortunate oversights - to the tune of $$$ MILLIONS. AFTER THE STORM addresses the steps necessary to successfully recover from disaster. DON'T PROCRASTINATE - READ IT! - DO IT!
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 ENTRY PASS - Armed with the knowledge that many domiciles are vacant during an evacuation, certain human insects will attempt to gain unobstructed access to the temporarily “easy pickings”. In response, police stationed at entrance checkpoints carefully scrutinize the identification of anyone attempting to return to the island, verifying credentials as either a resident or an owner/operator of a barrier island concern. If you can’t prove that you either live or work here, you won’t get in! CLICK HERE to learn how to get an ENTRY PASS!
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 HURRICANE FRAUD - Hurricane season, an annual source of emotional distress, brings out the best and the worst in us. There are several species of VAMPIRE that feed on the misery of the season’s victims. Two popular scams – “cleanup” and “emergency repair” - have developed into a cottage industry. FEMA and SBA impersonators are reviving old fashioned confidence schemes that have attracted the attention of Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist. These VULTURES are preying on people who've lost everything, towns desperately trying to right themselves and, quite possibly, YOU!
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 INSURANCE CYCLONE - Public concern about the season’s insurance impacts has sent bureaucrats scrambling from city hall to Tallahassee. Insurance lobbyists are gearing up for both overt and “under the radar” attacks on premiums, regionally and statewide. Carriers may threaten to abandon certain Florida insurance markets as part of their effort to force the Office of Insurance Regulation to float rates. Tallahassee wants to roll back the “Double Deductible” that Tom Gallagher terms “fundamentally unfair.”
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 WHEN THE BUDGET BURST - The City of Fort Lauderdale, despite benefitting from the highest per capita tax contributions ($570 per person) as compared to other large Florida municipalities, suffered a budget disaster. On December 16, 2003, the City Commission approved a financial package of cutbacks, layoffs, and program freezes designed by Acting City Manager Alan A. Silva as part of a two-year effort to help the City find its financial feet. How we were immersed in this mess is easy to follow but difficult to fathom. Mr. Silva put it succinctly, "We had been living beyond our means." Surprisingly, our elected representatives elected to ignore the wealth of danger signals that heralded our fiscal demise. Gulping down a bottle of aspirin, we documented the unfortunate experience. Check it out
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 A CHRONOLOGY - A 3 year period of gross mismanagement has transformed a city with an $18.3 billion tax base into a municipal basket case. Despite protests of surprise and shock by municipal representatives, the budget disaster we now face did not ambush Fort Lauderdale. City officials have had a ringside seat to a three year fiscal mismanagement spectacle. They were not, however, spectators. They were participants. The City's finance officials consistently warned of impending budget troubles. Memoranda went to Commissioners, the Mayor and their staff personnel. This is what happened...
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 GRETSAS Chosen New City Manager - At the MAY 17, 2004 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Cindi Hutchinson moved to select Gretsas for the point position in the war to reestablish Fort Lauderdale’s fiscal credibility. Characterizing Gretsas as “a person who has fire in his belly”, Commissioner Christine Teel seconded Hutchinson’s motion. The former Executive Officer of White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino, Mr. Gretsas was never a City Manager...until now. City Commissioners are banking on his integrity and intensity, not his resumé.
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 Love Hits Treasury - In June 2004, City Auditor Renee Foley released a report concerning serious deficiencies in the City's Treasury Department. Her report concludes that, “No reliance could be placed on the systems to safeguard the city’s assets.” The City maintains no record of personnel who possess keys or the combinations to its safes. The current audit focuses on “severe deficiencies” in the way the Treasury Department tracks and handles money. City Auditor Allyson Love has been an extremely active part of the City's budgetary housecleaning effort. Her audits of the Parks Department and some questionable practices ascribed to a contractor doing business with the City have affirmed the City Commission's commitment to tightening fiscal controls.
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Sprinkler Controversy - The residents of the Galt Mile community are currently tolerating an exasperating and expensive ordeal that accompanies the massive renovation efforts required to bring their 20-30 year old buildings into the 21st century. The specter of another million-dollar project unceremoniously dumped on the top of this construction quagmire would have to be, at the very least, a clear and uncontested necessity.
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GMCA Fires Back - One of the country's premier legal condominium specialists, the well-known firm of Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., has offered to spearhead a lobbying effort to correct the critically flawed legislation that will result in your Association having to pony up over a million dollars to install a questionable "Fire Safety" system. Their success is contingent upon our willingness to help ourselves. Find out HOW!
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CHIEFS OFFER HELP - On October 30, 2003, Fort Lauderdale Fire Marshal Steve Kastner, Division Chief of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Prevention Bureau, and Chief Robert Edgar of the Emergency Medical Services Bureau met with GMCA Presidents Council Chairman Pio Ieraci and Advisory Board Member Eric Berkowitz to improve communications among the Fire Marshal’s office, the E.M.S. Division and the community. Marshal Kastner has invited the Galt Mile Community Association to request his official or unofficial input on any fire-related issue. He offered to provide timely advice to help any Association cope with the legislative confusion or the upgrading of their fire safety systems. He also agreed to suspend enforcement of the dogmatic provisions in the Fire Safety Legislation until the Legislation is claified in Tallahassee!
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TWO FIRE BILLS - While the opt-out provisions inherent in the Fire Safety Amendment are definitely a step in the right direction, they contain several irrational obstacles whose only discernible purpose is to increase our maintenance assessments in exchange for nothing. Two bills, Senate Bill 1938 and House Bill 747, have been drafted which will allow you to exercise your opt-out rights granted last session in an easier and more streamlined process. The deep-pockets lobbyists for the National Fire Sprinkler Association and the Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Union have launched a well-funded campaign to reverse last year’s achievements. A battle to defend that progress and retrieve control of our Fire Safety Standards is again underway!
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Broward Beach Coalition - The threat to our beaches has united concerned citizens, government, business, workers, and the environmental community in a partnership designed to alert our representatives to the disquiet precipitated by this impending disaster. The Broward Beach Coalition is a grass roots cross section of community interests that have conjoined to convey our concerns and the pertinent facts to the Governor, the Cabinet,and the community at large.
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Beach Victory - After over two contentious years of disappointments, delays, and deferrals, the Governor and the Cabinet finally issued the permit sought by the Broward County Department of Planning and Environmental Protection to proceed with the Beach Renourishment Project.
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Final Environmental Impact Statement - The FEIS addresses all of the concerns expressed by an assortment of official environmental watchdog agencies in response to the original Draft EIS drawn in March, 2002. It finally establishes a timeline for the project's implementation.
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Final Record of Decision - That’s it - its official - the plan has the blessing of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, all of the environmental watchdogs with authoritative standing and the people that live on the beach. Broward County now carries the ball. They will implement the southern segment of the project first, monitor the effects for 18 months, and complete the northern portion when the southern portion receives a clean bill of health.
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County Celebrates Beach Renourishment Kickoff - On May 6, 2005, a long-awaited celebration took place in Hollywood. The immediate beneficiaries of the Broward County Shore Protection Project, the municipalities of Hollywood, Hallandale Beach and Dania Beach, joined Broward County in throwing a party to highlight the project’s commencement. Joining Broward County and local municipal officials, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Army Corps of Engineers, many civic and environmental groups (including the Galt Mile Community Association) that spent the past 5 years locked in a frustrating struggle to save Broward’s beaches were grateful to witness the project start.
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Cleveland Clinic - And then there were none. The Cleveland Clinic, along with the only emergency room on the Barrier Island, was gone. The Cleveland Clinic moved here via the acquisition of the old North Beach Hospital. Their stated intention was to "grow with the Barrier Island". They did. What happened?
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The 32nd Street Alley - STILL A MESS Despite repeated attempts by City Commissioner Christine Teel and others to bring the concerned merchants to the table to initiate a voluntary "clean-up" of the unsanitary state that persists, the lack of response has precipitated enforcement action by the City.
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AEDs - Sudden Cardiac Arrest - It happens quickly. Without warning. It can affect anyone - healthy adults, even teenagers. It cannot be prevented. There is no vaccine. Most do not survive. It's called Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and there's only one way to treat it. DEFIBRILLATION. An untrained eleven year old child recently saved someone's life using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). ANYONE CAN USE IT, SAFELY...and with no LEGAL LIABILITY!
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GMCA GRADUATES ITS FIRST CPR/AED CLASS The Galt Mile Community Association, having partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Department of Fire-Rescue to bestow certification training in CPR/AED for residents and employees of Associations that purchased defibrillators, graduated 15 students from REGENCY TOWER and SOUTHPOINT condominiums. Having several residents and/or employees certified in CPR/AED from each AED-equipped Association is not required but is recommended as part of a well-rounded AED implementation program. The free training is a LIMITED RESOURCE that is available on a first come, first serve basis to Associations that have already purchased and AED.
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Race with the Clock For years, the specter of a lawsuit delayed the acceptance of defibrillators by litigation-leery Associations. During the 2004 legislative session in Tallahassee, laws protecting Condo Associations, Cooperatives and Homeowner Associations from civil liability were enacted. The question confronting condo residents and their Boards is no longer, “What will happen to us if we purchase and install a defibrillator?” It is now, “What will happen if we don’t?”
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FLPD Crime Statistics - The Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD) Crime Analysis Unit produces reports which depict our crime and service statistics. The reports are avaiable here.
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FLPD Crime Update - On November 17, 2004, Major Mary Negrey of Police District 1 sent a crime update for the Galt Mile neighborhood to Commissioner Christine Teel. She forwarded it to us.
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 FLORIDA Crime Statistics - FDLE's (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) Uniform Crime Report (UCR) system provides standardized reports on crime statistics based on data gathered from across the state. Reports that provide both summary and detail information are issued yearly. You can find data from 1994 up to the most recently released reports.
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THE HOMELESS - Fort Lauderdale Police Assistant Chief Chuck Drago suggests that the best way to contend with the recent infusion of homeless people permanently occupying the benches along Galt Ocean Drive is to stop giving them money.
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 ASK LORI! - Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish responds to questions posed by residents about the value of their homes. Inqueries about the "SAVE OUR HOMES" amendent, the SENIOR EXEMPTION and the ubiquitous HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION are answered by the County's Property Appraiser.
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HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS - The Broward County Property Appraiser's Office will conduct special taxpayer sign-up sessions for the 2011 Homestead Exemption and Senior Exemption at City Hall, the Beach Community Center, and various Homeowners and Civic Associations this September, October, November, January, February, March and April. The Beach Community Center (3351 NE 33rd Street) sign-up dates are Friday 10:00 AM on July 29, August 26, September 30, October 28.
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GALT MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION - The Galt Merchants Association (GMA), an active member of the Galt Mile Community Association, was created to accomplish and promote a harmonious relationship between our residents and the businesses that service them. The GMA defines our residents' commercial needs and promotes those merchants who successfully satisfy them. The result is a highly diversified, competitive, and responsive collection of competent, helpful, and friendly vendors and service personnel. SEE WHO THEY ARE!
Go to Galt Merchants Association Website
NEW GALT SHOPPES DEVELOPMENT! - The Galt Merchants Association has shepherded its project to transform the Galt Ocean Shoppes into a unique tourist and shopping mecca through all the preliminary governmental and engineering hurdles. We now have a viable Master Plan designed to bring us the rest of the way!
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