During an time when we as an nation we are trying to lesson our dependency on out side oil Governor Chris trying to sell what already belongs to the public of Fl. To foreign body why!
MARCO ISLAND — If there’s any positive to the downturn in the economy, it may be for those who oppose leasing Alligator Alley.
CRIST APPOINTS HOSSEINI’S SISTER TO ST. JOHNS WATER MANAGEMENT BOARD
Gov. Charlie Crist has picked two new people to serve on the regional water management district board for Central Florida – a Volusia County engineer with development ties and an Alachua County law professor with environmental ties.
Crist named Maryam H. Ghyabi, 50, of Ormond Beach, and Richard G. Hamann, 58, of Gainesville, to the St. Johns River Water Management District governing board, which controls water consumption permits, approves wetland permits and decides how much water the local utilities can siphon from the St. Johns River.
The district includes parts of 18 counties, including most of metro Orlando.Ghyabi is president of Ghyabi & Associates, a transportation engineering and planning firm that has been a consultant on many local transportation issues.
She is a sister of Mori Hosseini, a big-time developer based in Daytona Beach. Hosseini is a Republican super-fundraiser, ranking as a “Ranger” who raised at least $200,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.
Hosseini and his array of companies frequently show up in many elected officials' campaign finance reports.Hamann teaches water and ecosystem law at the University of Florida's Center for Governmental Responsibility.
Other postions Mori Hosseini was elected to the Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees in April 1999
His professional affiliations include the Florida Defenders of the Environment and the Alachua Conservation Trust. If approved by the state Senate, Ghyabi would replace David G. Graham of Jacksonville and Hamann would replace Ann T. Moore, the Flagler County representative.
FLA Politics
She is a sister of Mori Hosseini, a big-time developer based in Daytona Beach. ..... of state toll roads, including Alligator Alley, died in the House.
Stanaki Land deal in Volusia County could hurt Crists and McCollum . FDEP/ DSL was negotiating to buy land from a major Republican donor Mori Hosseini.
In derrogation of a court ruling (Case 05-001852) Crist and Bush and granted development entitlements on the Land (FLAWC053106) while negotiations were in process.
Hosseini was allowed to get new appraisals and raised the asking price from 8 to 16 million. Crist then had FDEP end negotiations and asked DCA to fund the purchase through a FCT Grant reimbursement program.
This allowed new appraisals to be used by the State. Last Thursday (FCT Governing Board Meeting) DCA Secretary Pelham approved funding the purchase at the higher per acre price.
FCT Director Reecy said the earlier FDEP appraisals and offers were "irrelevant" and removed them from the files prior to staff and Board review of the grant application (08-004-FF8).
Both McCollum and Crist received donations before and since the Pioneer CDD was granted
UPDATE: CRIST APPOINTS HOSSEINI’S SISTER TO ST. JOHNS WATER MANAGEMENT BOARDGov.
Charlie Crist has picked two new people to serve on the regional water management district board for Central Florida – a Volusia County engineer with development ties and an Alachua County law professor with environmental ties.Crist named Maryam H. Ghyabi, 50, of Ormond Beach, and Richard G. Hamann, 58, of Gainesville, to the St. Johns River Water Management District governing board, which controls water consumption permits, approves wetland permits and decides how much water the local utilities can siphon from the St. Johns River.
The district includes parts of 18 counties, including most of metro Orlando.Ghyabi is president of Ghyabi & Associates, a transportation engineering and planning firm that has been a consultant on many local transportation issues.
Hosseini and his array of companies frequently show up in many elected officials' campaign finance reports.Hamann teaches water and ecosystem law at the University of Florida's Center for Governmental Responsibility.
His professional affiliations include the Florida Defenders of the Environment and the Alachua Conservation Trust. If approved by the state Senate, Ghyabi would replace David G. Graham of Jacksonville and Hamann would replace Ann T. Moore, the Flagler County representative.
The Florida Department of Transportation is extending the proposal due date from May 8 to May 18 for Alligator Alley lease bidders to finalize their negotiations with lenders.
The proposals for a public-private partnership to lease, maintain, operate and receive toll revenues from Alligator Alley may be slowed down due to lending and economic issues.
At least one bidder dropped out citing those reasons, while another went bankrupt.
“This additional time allows proposers to complete their proposals,” wrote Pamela Griffis, FDOT’s deputy communications director in Tallahassee, in a prepared release Friday.
The bid opening previously scheduled for May 11 is canceled. FDOT will schedule another public meeting to announce the results of the solicitation process for Alligator Alley, which is a section of Interstate 75 connecting Naples to the southeastern coastal area of Weston.
FDOT has been pushing to privatize the 78-mile toll road across the Everglades to raise up-front money that cannot be generated from tolls to pay for other transportation needs in the state.
There were originally eight bidders vying for the Alligator Alley lease and at least one of the foreign investors, VINCI Concessions, notified state officials in March that it would no longer submit a bid because of deteriorating economic conditions.
The only American company that made the short list of bidders was the investment bank Lehman Brothers, which went belly up in September 2008.
The state’s proposed tolls for Alligator Alley include a 50 percent hike upon privatization to bring the toll up to $3.75, or $3 if using the SunPass. Smaller additional hikes have been set annually.
Warren Walker, a Naples resident who says he travels “the alley” frequently for personal trips and travels between Marco, Naples, Fort Myers and Florida’s East Coast as a driver with the transportation company Alligator Alley Express, said he doesn’t like any part of the proposal thus far.
“If Governor Charlie Crist allows this to happen, after hearing all the citizens say they don’t want this to happen, then we need to kick him out, since he is not working for us,” Walker said to the Eagle Monday.
As it turns out hes leaving to go fight for the very ones hes not hearing as Govenor.
You have a public road, paid for by public dollars and it needs to stay public,”.
Crist lobbies for leasing Alligator Alley
“If you’re doing a new road and want to put a toll road in, that’s different. But this road is bought and paid for with public dollars. A private entity would (lease it and charge tolls)to raise money.
"Why don’t we make the money?”
According to a Naples Daily News poll, 86 percent of 1,230 online readers said they do not want to see Alligator Alley leased to a company.
About 8 percent supported the lease idea.
Bills to put a two-year moratorium on road deals with foreign investors, such as the 50 to 75 year lease of Alligator Alley, are not making it through the Florida
Legislature. Separate bills to keep some of the money from the lease in Collier County didn’t make it through the committee hearings earlier in April either.
During 2007, Alligator Alley tolls produced approximately $23.5 million while operations and maintenance costs were approximately $6.1 million, FDOT reported.
More information about the Alligator Alley leasing proposal is available on an FDOT-managed Web site, alligator-alley.com.
http://www.marconews.com/news/2009/apr/21/alligator-alley-lease-delayed/
With Other Dealings in an time of transparency Crist's Secrecy Prompts Suit
Another voice has emerged in the slowly growing movement to figure out what in the hell is really going on with Charlie Crist's $1.75 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar. The media coverage of this secretive and misguided deal so far has been laughable.
MIAMI ATTORNEY FILES SUNSHINE SUIT AGAINST WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Today, Dexter Lehtinen , a Miami Attorney who is an open government and Everglades advocate, announced that he has filed a lawsuit against the South Florida Water Management District (“District”) in Circuit Court in Palm Beach County.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the Sunshine Law related to the District’s after-the-fact ratification of a Statement of Principles on a proposal to purchase the assets of the U.S. Sugar Corporation for $1.75 billion dollars.
The Plaintiff, Dexter Lehtinen , is a former U.S. Attorney for the State of Florida who filed the 1989 landmark Everglades lawsuit. He is also a former State Representative and State Senator who in the mid 1980s chaired the “open government” sub-committee. Mr. Lehtinen remains committed to open government in the Sunshine State and to cleaning up and restoring the Everglades .
According to Mr. Lehtinen: “Open government is the heart of democracy and accountable government. The public has a right to know the impact of the District’s proposal on the Everglades now.
For example, the District has stopped the construction of a 16,000 acre reservoir necessary to meet water quality requirements in the Everglades now. The Everglades can not wait another ten or twenty years. It is dying now. The Everglades needs restoration now.”
The lawsuit seeks to enjoin “an unprecedented violation of the Government in the Sunshine Law, Section 286.011 of the Florida Statutes.” It contends that “during the first half of 2008, delegates of the District Governing Board...or Board members participated in secret negotiations and evaluations of a purchase by the District of substantially all assets of the U.S. Sugar Corporation (US Sugar).
” The lawsuit asks the Court to find that the District violated the Sunshine Law, and its Rules, by failing to properly notify the public of its “after-the-fact” consideration of the Statement of Principles at its June 30, 2008 meeting.
It asks the Court to enjoin the District from participating in closed door meetings in the future, and seeks to have the June 30, 2008 , vote declared null and void.
Says Mr. Lehtinen: “This particular case (where the public has no details and the government itself appears to be in disarray with no coherent plan) is a perfect example of what happens when plans are developed in secrecy.
Had the District operated in the Sunshine, it would have been forced to answer the difficult questions about this proposed land purchase, which left unanswered threaten Everglades restoration.
Some questions include: how will it be funded; is there a cost benefit analysis; how is the land going to be used; how does the land purchase fit into the Restoration plan adopted by Congress; will money be taken away from ongoing Everglades restoration and clean-up efforts; what will the cost of delay be to the Everglades from putting off projects; what private groups will benefit from the money; and what will the social and economic impacts be?”
With storm sesson now upon us it's strange that fixing the flooding is not higher issue unless padding pockets of others and I don't mean the public's.
What will be the cost of delay to those already affected not only to homes but small bussiness's?
Why are these private groups not interested in solving this issue?
Governor Gridlock
