The Camel's Nose: Now that Miami-Dade excluded registrants from the Pottinger Agreement, now they're trying to eliminate the Pottinger Agreement altogether

Miami-Dade has been trying to undo the Pottinger Agreement for years after it was made. They used Predator Panic to achieve that goal. It was the old adage about the camel's nose in the tent. Now that the rights of some of Miami-Dade's homeless have been excluded from the Pottinger Agreement, the assault on the Pottinger Agreement itself can commence.

THIS is why everyone should fight for the rights of all Americans, even those unpopular ones.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article212189034.html

A decree bars police from harassing homeless people. Miami has moved to terminate it.
BY JOEY FLECHAS

jflechas@miamiherald.com

May 30, 2018 02:27 PM

Miami has asked a federal judge to terminate a 20-year-old legal agreement that protects the city's homeless from undue police harassment — a change that would allow the police to arrest the homeless for loitering.


The city on Wednesday filed a motion in U.S. District Court to terminate the Pottinger agreement, a 1998 consent decree that prevents police from arresting homeless people for "life-sustaining" activities such as sleeping on the sidewalk, starting a cooking fire or urinating in public. The agreement stems from a landmark lawsuit brought against the city in the early 1990s by 5,000 homeless people and the American Civil Liberties Union to stop the police practice of arresting the homeless for loitering, saying it was unconstitutional.

For two decades, the Pottinger agreement — named for one of the plaintiffs, Michael Pottinger — has governed how police can interact with the homeless. In April, city commissioners unanimously passed a resolution instructing the city attorney to takes steps toward ending or amending the agreement. That resolution was sponsored by Mayor Francis Suarez and commissioners Joe Carollo and Manolo Reyes.

Wednesday's motion solidifies the city's stance that the agreement's additional protections for the homeless are no longer needed in Miami because the city can humanely steer people on the street toward an expanded range of services that were not available in 1998.

“The circumstances have changed, and today Pottinger restricts the city from acting in the best interest of homeless persons and residents in general,” said City Manager Emilio González, in a statement. “Without the constraints of Pottinger we can better provide services for the homeless with dignity and compassion.”

The ACLU and advocates for the homeless disagree, pointing to a recent rash of incidents when they say the police violated the agreement and harassed the homeless.

"It's simply not true that the city's treatment of the homeless bears no resemblance to the way the police treated the homeless in the years leading up to the lawsuit," said Benjamin Waxman, the volunteer ACLU attorney handling the case.

Waxman cited the city's biweekly "cleanups" conducted by its Homeless Assistance Program, the team of city employees who are supposed to work with people living on the streets. Homeless people have claimed harassment, telling the Miami New Times that city workers have tried to kick them out of certain areas and destroy their property — violations of the Pottinger agreement.

In one case, a woman arrested for obstructing the sidewalk later died in custody, which activists say was because she did not receive proper medical attention while under arrest.

"They’re simply making a crime of the fact that people do not have houses,” said David Peery, an advocate who is another plaintiff in the federal settlement.

Peery recently told the Miami Herald he believes that if the woman, Tabitha Bass, had been taken to a shelter and offered services, she would have received the medical attention she needed. Footage from the body camera worn by the officer who made the arrest, Carla Gonzalez, shows the officer did not give Bass a warning or offer her shelter before arresting her. This was a violation of the Pottinger agreement, Peery said, that he feels contributed to her ill health.

"I think everyone can agree this does not help someone who is fragile from a medical condition," he said.

On the other side of the debate, downtown residents have urged the city to ask the court to end Pottinger. Some have complained that the public defecation presents a public health issue and say police should not be hampered by additional rules when interacting with the homeless. Several told commissioners they believe the homeless who remain on the street are largely there because they want to be there.

In a prepared statement, the city argued that the decree hurts the city's ability to assist people living on the street.

"The Pottinger consent decree restricts the city from taking actions in situations such as the observation of a homeless person obstructing a sidewalk, or a homeless person urinating or defecating in public," reads the statement. "It also restricts the city from offering shelter beds that are available outside of the city of Miami. No other South Florida municipality faces such restrictions."

In the motion, Miami's city attorneys emphasize the demographic changes in downtown, suggesting that the arrival of new businesses, increase in tourist traffic and growth in residential and hotel developments are reasons the consent decree should be terminated.

The city attorneys also bring up the Sept. 11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing, arguing that the homeless protections could threaten public safety.

"Because of the Pottinger consent decree, however, the city police department's ability to carry out security-related investigations of what may or may not be homeless property is extremely limited, endangering the public at large," reads the motion.

If the judge doesn't agree to strike down the consent decree, the city is asking for some key changes. The proposed amendments would allow the city to take homeless who accept shelter to any available bed in Miami-Dade County — currently, Miami police are restricted to taking people only to shelters within city limits. Another proposed change would allow the city to classify some homeless people as "chronically homeless" and exempt them from Pottinger's protections.

"By remaining on the streets, there is a greater likelihood that chronically homeless individuals (particularly those who suffer from serious mental illness, substance abuse, or both) may engage in aggressive panhandling, theft or violent crimes," Miami attorneys wrote.

Peery said the issues of mental illness and drug addiction are concerns that are best addressed under the decree's rules, because the decree should force police to steer homeless individuals to health programs where they can get the help they need.

After the city filed its motion Wednesday, Waxman said he would file a motion to enforce the decree. The competing motions will force a federal judge to hear both sides before ruling on the matter, likely within a few weeks.

This list, while incomplete, shows just how much Ron Book collects from FL government agencies

The Miami Herald recently reported that the state had attempted to make contracts between lobbyists and state officials public, but there has been little enforcement of this law. Still, this is helpful to understand the reach of this corrupt lobbyist, as he has his hands in a lot of pockets.


https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/LD/PublicEntityContractDisclosure.aspx

Bal Harbour Village Ronald L. Book $60,000 per year
Brevard County Ronald L. Book $5,000 per month
Broward County Ronald L. Book $53,000
City of Aventura Ronald L. Book $52,500 per year
City of Cooper City Ronald L. Book $48,000 per year
City of Dania Beach Ronald L. Book $50,000 per year
City of Doral Ronald L. Book not to exceed $90,000 per year
City of Fort Lauderdale Ronald L. Book $97,500
City of Hallandale Beach Ronald L. Book $52,500
City of Marathon Ronald L. Book $60,000 per year
City of Marco Island Ronald L. Book not exceeding $60,000 per year
City of Miramar Ronald L. Book $60,000 per year
City of North Miami Ronald L. Book $6,666 per month
City of North Miami Beach Ronald L. Book $60,000 per year
City of Palm Bay Ronald L. Book $60,000 per year
City of Pinellas Park Ronald L. Book $62,000 per year
City of Sunny Isles Beach Ronald L. Book $65,000 per year
City of Sunrise Ronald L. Book $4,166.67 per month
City of Tallahassee Ronald L. Book $90,000 per year
City of Tamarac Ronald L. Book not exceeding $59,400
Miami-Dade County Ronald L. Book $120,000 per year
Miami-Dade County School Board Ronald L. Book not exceeding $240,000 for 36 months
North Broward Hospital District Ronald L. Book $50,000 per year
Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County Ronald L. Book not to exceed $190,000
South Broward Hospital District Ronald L. Book $8,333.33 per month
Town of Davie Ronald L. Book not exceeding $28,000 per year
Village of Palmetto Bay Ronald L. Book $4,000 per month
Village of Royal Palm Beach Ronald L. Book $50,000 per year

The Bookville Countywide tour continues

Apparently, the "solution" to the homeless registrant crisis is to force them to move constantly.

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/content/printView/10376656

Police Now Shuffling Tent City Sex Offenders Around Miami-Dade
JESSICA LIPSCOMB | MAY 24, 2018 | 9:00AM

In 2009, California artist Scott Gairdner made the "Sex Offender Shuffle," a viral video parodying Miami-Dade's treatment of sex offenders. With a catchy beat and '80s-style cinematography, the four-minute spoof of the 1985 Chicago Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle" mocked the way sex offenders are shuffled from one location to another under the guise of public safety.

Nine years later, the sex offender shuffle is playing out in real life in Miami-Dade. After being forced to leave a longtime encampment near Hialeah, a group of homeless sex offenders was kicked out of its new location near the airport over the weekend.

"There's no solution," says Frank Diaz, a pastor who ministers to the affected offenders. "They're just sweeping them from one place to another."

The evictions date back to March, when the county gave notice to about 100 homeless sex offenders living at an encampment alongside railroad tracks near Hialeah that they had until May 6 to vacate the area. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Legal Services of Greater Miami filed a lawsuit challenging the county's overnight camping ordinances but lost their first court hearing. The residents of "Tent City" were forced to leave in early May.

After the hearing, the offenders' lawyer, Jeffrey Hearne, accurately predicted the decision would simply create new encampments of homeless sex offenders.

"They'll most likely be relocating to another street corner," Hearne told the Miami Herald .

So in mid-May, a group of former Tent City residents moved to a location off NW 37th Avenue just northeast of Miami International Airport. But last weekend, Diaz says, police stationed themselves in the area and informed the offenders they couldn't stay there either.

"When I ask [the offenders] where they're going, they say, 'We don't know,'" Diaz tells New Times. "They've been split up as the Tent City that we saw, and now there's like four different locations where they're residing."

Many critics, including the ACLU, say the county's restrictive residency requirements are to blame. The Lauren Book Child Safety Ordinance — championed by Florida Sen. Lauren Book's father: Homeless Trust chair and mega-lobbyist Ron Book — prevents child sex offenders from living within 2,500 feet of places where children congregate, such as schools and parks. (The rule is far more restrictive than the more standard statewide law requiring them to live 1,000 feet away.)

In a contentious interview earlier this month with CBS's Jim DeFede, Ron Book shifted the blame to the offenders by arguing they "shouldn't be homeless."

He told DeFede: "They need to work to find places to live."

Book later added he'd "be happy to encourage" life imprisonment for child sex offenders as an alternative to the current housing debacle.

Until a long-term solution is found, Tent City residents will continue to do the sex offender shuffle.

"They're in that limbo, and they keep being brushed away," Diaz says. "I'm not condoning their crimes, but we're humans. We've got to have a little bit of compassion. Let's find a place and put them in housing so they can have some kind of hope to return to society."

Lauren Book's paranoia about a silly kid's movie once again proves she is just too unstable to be a state senator

Lauren Book has been reduced to reading silly conspiracy theories online. Next, she'll be claiming PizzaGate is a real thing.

http://orlando-rising.com/lauren-book-controversial-show-dogs-sends-disturbing-message-kids-skip-box-office

Lauren Book: Controversial ‘Show Dogs’ sends disturbing message to kids — skip this at the box office
 Guest Author  05/22/2018  Latest Opinion, Opinions

Recent controversy surrounding the soon-to-be-released movie “Show Dogs” makes it clear that sexualized content — made worse under the guise of humor — has no place in children’s movies.

I am extremely alarmed by reports that a character in the movie was instructed to essentially tolerate having their private parts touched, sending a disturbing message to young moviegoers.

Bloggers who attended an advance screening rightly called out Hollywood for the inappropriate content in a movie targeting children. [Editor's note: Read-- Paranoid soccer moms who listen to braindead idiots like Lauren Book]

Show Dogs is about a police dog who goes undercover in a dog show to find a missing panda. Variety describes it as “’Miss Congeniality’ for dogs,” where the hero prepares to compete in a dog show by learning how to prance, show, and even stay completely still while his private parts are being inspected and touched — something he is alarmed about and does not wish to do.

The trainer explains this a natural part of showing dogs (and it is) and to go against his instincts by finding a “Zen place” as a distraction from the groping.

This has no place in a movie for children and parents should avoid taking their child to see it unless the scene is removed before its Friday release.

As parents, we know the influence media has on children. Our kids pick up behaviors and understandings from movies, YouTube videos and TV shows. Their minds constantly absorb the content with little to no understanding of the context. [Editor's note: This same principle applies to adults who blindly listen to people like Lauren Book and her ilk.]

In this case, it’s OK if someone touches your private parts because it’s part of the “show” and it’s just silly fun.

But it’s actually called grooming and is a frequent tactic used by predators to keep victims quiet, questioning their fear.

Child sexual abuse is a trauma experienced by an estimated 42 million people in the U.S. and the number grows daily. [Editor's Note: These estimates came from feminist sources from the late 1970s and are of questionable integrity]

One in three girls and one in five boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18, and 90 percent of these cases will be committed by a person the child — and their parents — know, love and trust.

Bravo to these self-described mama bear bloggers for sounding the alarm. From one mama to another, thank you.

I myself have not seen Show Dogs, but have read multiple reviews that clearly state this content in the movie.

Show Dogs releases Friday — don’t go.

If you were thinking about it, wait for additional information after opening weekend and make an educated decision about what is best for your children and family to help them stay safe. And if you do choose to take your children, use the opportunity to have a real and important conversation about listening to your guiding voice and speaking up when a touch or situation doesn’t feel right.

Reinforce that it’s ALWAYS OK to tell and seek help from a trusted adult.

Your kids have a voice — teach them to use it.

I know the Book Crime Family reads this blog religiously, so I'll just leave this here (Trigger warning, if you're a pansy, don't click the link. Pansy.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTb_MWZGHMk

Ron and Lauren Book: Unplugged and Unhinged

Ron and Lauren Book: Unplugged and Unhinged

A collection of clips about Ron and Lauren Book from various sources, put together, exposes Ron and Lauren Book as vindictive monsters abusing the law to cause harm to registered citizens in Miami.

Check out this video from LiveLeak:

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=uDwrL_1526695160

We figured Bovo the Clown had bigger political aspirations when he took Pepe Diaz's prime ass kissing spot

Wow what a shock, Esteban Bovo is trying to climb the political ladder. Looks like Pepe Le Pew Diaz needs to step up his game.

http://www.politicalcortadito.com/2018/05/02/double-agent-lobbyist-ron-book-gets-county-reprieve-mayoral-wannabe/

‘Double agent’ lobbyist Ron Book gets county reprieve from mayoral wannabe
By Ladra on May 2, 2018

Lobbyist Ron Book, who secretly worked against the Miami-Dade Commission during the last session in Tallahassee — even though we pay him to work for us — by sneaking puppy mill language into not one but two failed legislative bills, could have lost his juicy contract Tuesday to lobby for the county in Tallahassee because he didn’t request a waiver as required. See? Lobbyists are allowed to work against taxpayers on an issue, as long as they get a waiver from the county first.

Even if that did make any sense at all, it seems like Book would rather pedir perdon que pedir permiso. He did not seek a waiver when he worked for the Petland chain of stores this past session and against any municipality’s ability to regulate the sale of puppies from puppy mill breeders that put profits before the animals’ welfare and needs. Aventura, Margate and Hollywood all have local ordinances banning puppy mill sales that would immediately be null and void. Miami-Dade doesn’t have one — yet, because Ladra was told that one of the commissioners is writing an ordinance as you read this.

Read related: Animal activists beat Ron Book, squash 2 puppy mill bills in Tallahassee

A rule is a rule. And other lobbyists have been let go because of conflicting interests, most recently Ballard Partners because of their representation of Uber in Tallahassee while the ride sharing company was still hammering out regulation details in the 305. Several speakers urged the commission to deny Book a waiver after the fact.

“Mr. Book has acted as some sort of double agent getting money from both sides of an issue. Usually double agents work in secret with opposing sides,” said Michael Rosenberg, co-founder of the Pets’ Trust Miami, an initiative that passed a non-binding referendum in 2012 to fund a massive low-cost spay and neuter operation throughout the county.

“Mr. Book found a willing legislator to insert a few sentences hidden in a bill of over a hundred pages, whereby tangible property sold in stores would be beyond the control of the county. The tangible property was really describing dogs and cats because the client Mr. Book represents was also paying him to make sure Dade County commissioners and commissioners across the state could not restrict animal sales in retail stores in their communities,” Rosenberg said, adding that Book should not only NOT be given a waiver but should also have to make up for his lapse in judgement by working on pro-puppy legislation.

Truth is, the mercenary, er, I mean lobbyist clearly crossed the conflict of interests line.

But Book was given an 11th hour reprieve Tuesday when the item was deferred at the request of Commission Chairman Esteban Bovo, who said he wanted Book to be present to defend himself before any action was taken. There’s no hurry, he said, because Book — who skipped the meeting to be with another client even though he knew he was on the agenda — can’t stab them in the back again until next year, at the earliest.

Maybe the other client Book was meeting with was Petland, you know, to plan their 2019 strategy.

But the real reason that Bovo gave him a reprieve is because the chairman is running for mayor in 2020 and Book is known as a prolific fundraiser who was able to get his own daughter elected to Senate. Surely, Bovo will hold this out as long as he can so that he can squeeze Book for as much mayoral matrix moolah as he can.

Lucky for us, we have Commissioner Rebeca Sosa holding Book’s feet to the fire. She said she wants him back before the commission sooner rather than later to resolve this. Hopefully, she will put it on the agenda for the very next meeting.

“They were already working in Tallahassee this year without asking this commission for a waiver. I have a big problem with that,” Sosa said. “Either they work for the county, or they work for someone else.

“They are not here today. Why? When they knew this was on the agenda?”

Because Book is used to getting his way, even when he is not in chambers. Because there’s always someone who wants to be mayor.

  Esteban Bovo, Pet’s Trust, Ron Book

Ron Book won't be allowed to kick puppies in Miasma-Dade but he'll still be allowed to kick humans around

This hasn't been a good week for Ronnie. Not only did he get embarrassed on TV, he was unanimously shut down by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. If there was ever any more needed proof Miasma-Dade's registrants are treated worse than animals, this is it.

http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article211179839.html

Lobbyist Ron Book tends to get his way in Miami-Dade, but this time it's a No.
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
May 15, 2018 11:58 PM

dhanks@miamiherald.com

Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously rejected county lobbyist Ron Book's request for a waiver to represent pet stores that had pushed state lawmakers to block local regulations of puppy sales.

The 12 to 0 vote represented a rare rejection for Book before the commission, which has consistently waived term-limit and residency requirements to allow the powerful lobbyist to remain the volunteer head of the county's homeless board. Book represents dozens of local governments in Tallahassee, including Miami-Dade, as well as private-sector clients.

Near the end of the 2018 legislative session, he requested a waiver for him and two lobbyists to represent a group tied to the Petland pet-store chain while also being paid by Miami-Dade County. The waiver came as Petland sought state legislation that would have blocked local governments like Miami-Dade from regulating puppy sales, pursuing the kind of preemption of county lawmaking that Miami-Dade commissioners routinely fume about when discussing Tallahassee.

"I'm not going to cede any power to the state," Commissioner Dennis Moss said Tuesday before voting to follow the recommendation of the county's Ethics Commission and reject Book's wavier request.

The commission was set to vote on the waiver at its last meeting, but Chairman Esteban "Steve" Bovo postponed the decision because Book wasn't there to defend himself in person. Book also did not attend Tuesday's meeting. The commission voted to deny the waiver for him and two county lobbyists Book hired for the pet-store matter, Nelson Diaz and Sean Pittman.

"We love our animals and we set our rules," said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, who sponsored the item denying the waiver. In a text message, Book said he can still represent the pet-store industry in Tallahassee, as long as he doesn't advocate for any legislation that would preempt local laws. Book, based in Aventura, earned $120,000 last year on his county lobbying contract.

Activists for local laws banning most sales of puppies and kittens seized on Book's representation of Florida Pet Retailers as a slap in the face to Miami-Dade's efforts to boost adoption of shelter animals.

"I hope the county's unanimous vote will be the standard for all local governments who hire state lobbyists like Mr. Book," said Michele Lazarow, the vice mayor of Hallandale Beach and president of the Animal Defense Coalition, which lobbied against the state bill and helped pass local puppy-sale bans across Florida. "Lobbyists shouldn't be able to profit from both sides."

Interesting thought: If Donald Trump can be sued for blocking people on Twitter, then "Senator" Lauren Book can be sued, too.

Just a quick thought brought up by someone on Twitter yesterday after seeing Ron Book get a mental beatdown on the air. (I'm still laughing about it, BTW.) At any rate, Lauren Book's Twitter page isn't open to the public. This a Florida State Senator so afraid of public scrutiny, she has to screen all of her followers. (

Her Facebook page, however, is still open so feel free to flood her page with criticism of her vile actions. However, I'm sure this is only because Facebook doesn't do the same thing Twitter does, at least, not easily.

But it poses the question as to whether she could be sued for not sharing her government social media posts with the general public, including her constituents. After all, Trump has been sued for blocking critics on Twitter.

In fact, I think people have a better case against Lauren Book than against Trump. You see, if Trump block you, you can still read and comment on his Tweets (just not directly to him). Simply log out of your account or just open an incognito window and go to Trump's Twitter page and you can read and screenshoot his Tweets. With Lauren Book, her Tweets are "protected," meaning that every follower HAS TO BE APPROVED MANUALLY before her Tweets can be read. Now, Facebook does not have simple blanket policy. You have to take a few steps to lock down your personal account. You are given the opinion to make posts publicly or for it to only be seen among friends. However, you don't have to be a friend on FB to see FB posts set for public viewing.

I'd like to see someone sue this self-righteous professional victim with no value as a legislator. No legislator should be able to pick and choose who hears their messages. If you can't stand the heat, snowflake, resign. District 32 needs a better representative who isn't hiding behind protections because she cannot stand criticism.

That ugly face is probably a reaction to even a passing criticism. What a snowflake. 

Ron Book gets PWNED on Facing South Florida with Jim DeFede

Watch Ron Book get destroyed on TV... again. Ron Book could cite one statistic or an actual court case to justify his case, and even had the audacity to claim he never referred to registered citizens as monsters, something easily disproven.

Ron Book got his wish and Bookville IV is gone, now taking bets on Bookville V

Does someone want to take bets on the next Bookville camp? According to this website, the 10 cities below are the poorest neighborhoods in Miami. Of course, Allapattah was already a registrant hub, so I'd not put my money on them going back.

1 Model City
2 Overtown
3 Allapattah
4 Little Haiti
5 Wynwood
6 Flagami
7 Little Havana
8 West Flagler
9 South Coconut Grove
10 Upper Eastside

https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Police-Move-Remaining-Homeless-Sex-Offenders-Out-Of-Encampment-482451171.html

Police Move Remaining Homeless Sex Offenders Out Of Encampment
Published at 9:25 AM EDT on May 12, 2018 | Updated 6 hours ago

All of the homeless sex offenders living in a make-shift encampment in northwest Miami-Dade have been moved out of the area, police say.

Dozens of sex offenders and predators were residing in tents near NW 71st Street and 36th Avenue due to a Miami-Dade ordinance that required registered sex offenders to live about 2500 feet away from schools and child-care centers. The make-shift homes are within those parameters, but the Florida Department of Health determined the homes were a health hazard and unsanitary living spaces.

“At night, there’s rats everywhere,” one resident said. “They crawl on your face, and when it rains you get soaked. It’s a very, very bad place. And now, to be evicted, it’s even worse.”

Alvaro Zabaleta, detective with the Miami-Dade Police Department, said officers have been communicating with the residents for more than 45 days about impending eviction.

“[…] Now they have to move, and we cannot tell them where to go,” he said.

Zabaleta said residents have to notify the department’s sexual predator office and register their new location. Once they provide the location, officials will tell them if it’s within the guidelines, Zabaleta said.

Sex offenders aren't allowed at the county's homeless shelters and there are many restrictions on where they're allowed to live.

“Because of the difficulty they have finding house, they will most likely relocate to another street corner to avoid arrest and new encampments will pop up and this cycle will continue,” said Jeffrey Hearne from Legal Service of Greater Miami.

Sex offender camps are nothing new to South Florida. From 2006 to 2010, hundreds lived under the Julia Tuttle causeway until it was disbanded.

Last week, residents in West Kendall grew angry and protested after hearing that some of the homeless may relocate to a spot along Kendall Drive and Krome Avenue, where over a dozen people reportedly are already living.

Officials are in the process of clearing out the area.

We can't trust Miami PD, either

Ron Book donated to Judge Pedro Echarte's reelection campaign. Guess which side won yesterday's court battle over homeless registrants?

Guess who is running for reelection this year? Guess who got a $1000 donation from Ron Book? Guess who called conditions at the Hialeah homeless camp "deplorable" yet pulled a Pontius Pilate and ruled not to place a restraining order against enforcement of Miami's new "arrest the homeless for being homeless" law? THIS GUY:

This is Florida 11th Circuit Judge Pedro P. Echarte, Jr., and he just gave Ron Book the green light to strap up his jackboots and join up with the green shirts to round up the homeless registrants. 

http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article210870679.html

Homeless sex offenders lose court fight to keep Hialeah tent camp. Where to next?

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

May 10, 2018 04:40 PM

A Miami-Dade judge on Thursday cleared the way for the county to dismantle a tent village of homeless sex offenders outside Hialeah, and a lawyer for some of the residents said the ruling leaves them no choice but to live on a roadside or street somewhere else.

"They'll most likely be relocating to another street corner," Legal Services lawyer Jeffrey Hearne said after the hearing before Judge Pedro Echarte Jr. in Circuit Court. "New encampments will pop up. And this cycle will continue."

Kendall residents have already been picketing over another potential offender camp where Krome Avenue meets Kendall Drive at the western edge of the county. Miami-Dade's rules bar sex offenders from living with 2,500 feet of a school, a restriction that's far stricter than the 1,000-foot radius required by Florida law. Hearne said that the Krome camp has already been subject to a drive-by splattering from a paint gun.

"The vigilantism is a real concern," he said.

A lawyer for the county said Thursday that Miami-Dade has tried to find apartments for the nearly 100 tent dwellers in the encampment, and that many have left in recent months. But with Miami-Dade now ready to enforce a new law that gives police the ability to arrest sex offenders for sleeping on county property, the tents on a county-maintained roadside off Northwest 71st Street will no longer be a viable refuge, both sides said.

"We sent buses to the area. We tried to sign up people for housing assistance. ... We also had mobile workstations there to help them find addresses in compliance with the 2,500-foot rule," said Michael Valdes, the assistant Miami-Dade attorney handling the case. "There's only so much the county can do for individuals who aren't working with the county officials trying to help them."

Miami-Dade does not allow registered sex offenders to enter homeless shelters, but does assist with rent subsidies for apartments that comply with the 2,500-foot rule.

Miami-Dade also paid to bring in portable bathrooms and hand-washing stations at the Hialeah camp to address state warnings about potential health problems there. Valdes said large groups of homeless people in tents can cause the issues with public health, but suggested the tent residents could relocate in much smaller numbers. The county, he said, has not tried to bar them from living on the streets.

"If they have to be homeless, if they're on the street, there's no evidence the county has threatened them in any way with arrest," Valdes said. "The issue that we have is ... the erection of the tent structures on a semi-permanent basis."

Legal Services and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to block Miami-Dade from enforcing its new anti-camping legislation targeting the tent city, citing a technicality involving whether an actual building had to be on the land for the ordinance to apply. The suit also claimed the tent residents had a right to stay in the tent city, since Miami-Dade's overly strict rules on people with sex-offense convictions had left them with no legal, humane options.

Echarte rejected the legal arguments, saying the four anonymous tent residents who filed the suit had no case to make against Miami-Dade.

But the judge condemned the "deplorable" conditions facing the plaintiffs.

"Conditions so bad that most of us would not want our family pets living there," Echarte said. "Sadly neither the outcome of this motion, nor this case, will correct this serious societal problem. That has to come from the executive and legislative branch."

You can check it out for yourself by visiting the Florida Board of Elections website: http://dos.elections.myflorida.com/campaign-finance/contributions/

11th Circuit, back pocket

Watch Ron Book get owned by the ACLU of Florida's Jeanne Baker (and CBS Miami)

Ron Book cannot keep up with his lies and his distortions and gets destroyed on live TV.

Here is a little food for thought. Ron Book recently had to admit they only found shelter for one resident AND only a dozen registrants are currently in shelters. There is about 450 transient registrants in Miami Dade.

Now, imagine Ron Book was not head of the homeless trust but a baseball team. How long would he have a job if he had only 13 wins and 450 losses? Ron Book is the 2017 Cleveland Browns of Homeless advocates. He is the 2008 Detroit Lions of Homeless Advocates. How does he still have a job?

A momentary stay of execution on the Miami-Dade plan to arrest those they made homeless, but for how long?

Florida Action Committee first broke the news that Miami-Dade granted a temporary reprieve to the plan to round up the homeless registrants in Hialeah on May 6th under threat of lawsuit. However, this reprieve is very temporary; in fact, the stay of execution can be lifted as early as May 10th. In the meantime, there is a lot of interesting factoids about the city's plan to move the homeless registrants away from Hialeah:

The plan to move the camp to Kendall is in serious jeopardy: It was suggested a couple of weeks ago that the camp be moved by the Krome Service Processing Center (a facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement), but NBC Miami reported a "chaotic" emergency meeting overrun by outraged residents (or, as I prefer to call it, a lynch mob). Considering the suggested camp was more than a mile from the nearest bus stop and lacks electricity, running water or bathrooms, it should be understandable the reluctance of camp residents to move. Protests at the new camp took place on Sunday.

The Miami-Dade police isn't exactly doing much about the crisis at the moment: Considering MiamiPD's recent problems with police brutality, it is probably a good thing they adopted a "wait and see" approach to the looming homeless camp crisis. “The last thing we want is to have to take any enforcement,” Detective Alvaro Zabaleta says. “It just depends how everything lays out between now and May 6. It’s hard for us to have a plan of action if we don’t know how things are going to go.” Miami-Dade Police showed up Sunday night along with the so-called Homeless Trust but not to arrest anyone; instead, they claimed to be offering "resources" to the registrants.

Miami-Dade officials have succeeded in finding housing... for only ONE current camp resident: Ron Book likes to tell the media that there are plenty of options for camp residents but in reality, (as told by the Miami Herald), "Even so, he estimated the county is housing fewer than a dozen registered sex offenders in a system that provides some sort of shelter — be it a bed or an apartment — for more than 8,000 people. In a May 2 letter to the county, a Legal Services lawyer threatening a lawsuit over the planned dismantlement said Miami-Dade was only able to place a single camp resident in housing."

Ron  does not live in Miami, yet Ron Book has exceeded his stay as head of the Homeless Trust: Ron Book has been granted Emperor status at the Homeless Trust despite not even living in Miami-Dade County. He is the shot caller for this controversial organization: "Book has held the Homeless Trust chairmanship post since 2004, and exerts enough authority over the county’s homeless agency that he’s considered the de facto head of the tax-funded operation. In interviews, he has described holding veto power over day-to-day spending and housing decisions made by the paid staff. He also serves as the only authorized spokesman for the department." Interestingly, the Trust has been denied millions of dollars in federal assistance. I can understand why.

Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result each time. We have the same players in the game (Ron Book, many of the same county commissioners (Pepe Diaz in particular),  and the same game plan (Julia Tuttle Shorecrest, Allapattah, now Hialeah). This isn't even SSDD, folks, this is the same shit from the same assholes.

I have a better solution-- Repeal the Lauren Book Residence Restriction Ordinance, toss Ron Book out of the Homeless Trust, sen recidivist Ron to prison, repeal and replace Senator Bimbo, do the same to Pepe Diaz and Bovo, and send these corrupt pols to Guantanamo Bay. Problem solved.

Another day, another conflict of interest for Ron and Senator Lauren Book

Another day, another backroom deal for south Florida corruption

How can you tell if a Book Crime Family member is lying? Their lips are moving.

https://www.local10.com/news/florida/broward/broward-sheriff-accuses-local-10-news-investigative-reporter-bob-norman-of-bullying

Sheriff meets with father of member of commission to investigate Stoneman Douglas tragedy
Scott Israel says he will never answer another question from Bob Norman

By Bob Norman - Investigative Reporter
Posted: 6:19 PM, May 03, 2018
Updated: 7:48 PM, May 03, 2018

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Broward Sheriff Scott Israel hosted a service today in honor of the National Day of Prayer, and while he didn’t mention the Parkland massacre, he did reference his own travails in light of the school shooting that left 17 dead.

Israel said God puts people in rough seas because their "enemies can’t swim."

"If you seek shelter with the most high, you will be protected in the shadow of the almighty," he said.

After an overwhelming no-confidence vote by his deputies' union and with investigators -- from both the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Gov. Rick Scott's public safety commission -- looking into his actions after his agency's failures in Parkland, Israel may need all the protection he can get.

"Everything is on the line right now," said union chief Jeff Bell, who led the no-confidence vote and is encouraging Scott to suspend Israel from his post, alleging incompetence and neglect of duty.

The clouds surrounding BSO could explain the sheriff's meeting with lobbyist Ron Book Tuesday night at J. Alexanders in Plantation. Book is one of the most powerful lobbyists in Tallahassee and has the ear of the governor, who has said he will decide whether or not to suspend Israel when the FDLE investigation into the BSO response to Parkland is completed.

Presenting a more serious potential conflict of interest for Israel is the fact that Book's daughter, Sen. Lauren Book, sits on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, which is also investigating the shooting and BSO.

Bell said the meeting raises serious questions, saying the sheriff should take the same advice given to deputies who fall under investigation – stay away from potential conflicts of interest.

"Any time that you’re being investigated and you’re meeting with people who have direct ties with running that investigation or have family members of close friends that are involved in that decision making process you should always stay away from that," Bell said. "We’re always held to a higher standard and we should know better so to put yourself in situation like that where you could even be accused of having a conversation to dictate the outcome of an investigation."

When Local10 News investigative reporter Bob Norman asked Israel about the meeting with Book after the prayer service, Israel made it personal, accusing Norman of "bullying and disrespect."

"So you’re not going to answer my questions?" Norman asked.

"None of your questions ever," Israel said. "And I told you that four or five years ago, but thanks for coming Bobby."

Book said the two men had bumped into each other earlier this week and that he made a suggestion they catch up some time, though he said he doesn’t recall them ever socializing in the past. He said Israel called him the following day and suggested they meet for dinner at J. Alexander’s.

While he conceded they discussed the Parkland shooting, Book said the subject of the investigations and the governor were never mentioned. He said the subject of his daughter sitting on the Parkland commission also didn’t come up.

Book also said he didn’t consider the meeting a conflict of interest because he did not discuss Israel with his daughter either and that the two keep such matters "separate" from each other.

Book Crime Family supports puppy mills too? Is there any living creature the Books won't bully into submission?

I am starting to think that Ron Book and his bimbo daughter engage in atrocities because they enjoy watching ll manners of God's creatures suffer, be it man or beast.

The Book Crime Family is evil in every sense of the word, and they are disgusting proof there is no God. And knowing the wicked Books like I do, I would not be surprised if he kicks puppies for sport.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article209813504.html

Pet-store industry paying county's lobbyist to block local 'puppy mill' regulations

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

dhanks@miamiherald.com

April 27, 2018 08:53 PM

Updated April 28, 2018 09:54 AM

This year, a corporation tied to a chain of puppy stores paid lobbyist Ron Book to try to block local governments from enacting "puppy mill" laws severely limiting retail sales of dogs and cats.

The targets of that proposed state law: the more than two dozen local governments Book also represents in Tallahassee as one of the leading paid lobbyists in the state.

The legislative effort to block local restrictions on pet stores failed before the 2018 Legislature ended its session on March 11, but 2019 offers another chance for one Book client to triumph over the others. Now Book may be forced to choose sides, at least in Miami-Dade. Book is asking county commissioners to approve a waiver allowing his firm to represent the pet-store industry while collecting more than $100,000 a year as one of Miami-Dade's official lobbyists.

"I have worked hard, at the local levels to oppose the banning of the sale of puppies and kittens," Book wrote in a March 2 letter to Jess McCarty, the Miami-Dade lawyer who oversees the county's private lobbyists and their roughly $350,000 retainer. Book cited the since-failed state legislation that would ban city and county rules on pet sales, saying it would "reverse the trend of abolishing the sale of puppies and kittens locally."

Miami-Dade has some minor pet-store restrictions on the books, but hasn't enacted the kind of sweeping ban adopted by other Book clients, including Aventura, Miami Beach and North Miami. But at least one commissioner, Daniella Levine Cava, has said publicly she wants to propose one. And the county's Ethics Commission, which regulates parts of the lobbying industry, is urging the county to reject Book's waiver, citing Miami-Dade's long-running efforts to protect local law-making against limits from Tallahassee.

"You're going to have a well-known lobbyist taking a position different from the position the county is taking," said Joe Centorino, the outgoing director of the ethics commission. "It really undermines the county's position, and raises the question of the seriousness of the county's position."

The Book waiver meshes one of the most volatile issues in county politics — protecting shelter animals — with one of the most influential figures in county politics. Along with being a top source of campaign donations, Book essentially runs the county's homeless agency as the demanding volunteer chairman of an oversight board. The commission has granted him multiple waivers to defy term-limit rules and be exempt from a residency requirement to keep his volunteer post as chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust while living in Broward.

The lobbying waiver could be more complicated. Advocates for shelter animals, including the Pets Trust group, are some of the most vocal in county government. They're branding Book an opponent to the county's long-standing efforts to boost adoptions at the county's animal shelter — where the motto is "Adopt, Don't Shop" — and reduce the number of euthanized animals to nearly zero.

"Ron Book is trying to open the floodgates," said Michele Lazarow, the vice mayor of Hallandale Beach and president of the Animal Defense Coalition, which lobbied against the state bill and helped pass local puppy-sale bans across Florida. "Sixty cities and counties do not want that commerce. Ron Book is fighting to allow that commerce to flourish."

Book said the effort to block local pet-store rules was an unexpected turn in his client's legislative strategy this year. He also positioned his defense of pet-store sales as protecting consumer choice. Citing the larger number of pit bulls and similar breeds at Miami-Dade's animal shelter, Book said sales of puppies from breeders give more options in a free market. "I don't choose that experience for my children and my grandchildren," Book said of having a pit bull as a pet.

"Don't dictate what kind of pet someone buys for themselves or their children," he said. "We don't live in Venezuela. We don't live in Cuba."

Book's Tallahassee client is Florida Pet Retailers, a for-profit company led by Luis Marquez, who also owns multiple franchises of Petland, a chain that sells puppies in Miami-Dade and Broward.

Miami-Dade commissioners have rejected waivers in the past. In 2015, Ballard Partners wanted permission to represent Uber in Tallahassee as the ride-hailing company pushed for the state to block the kind of local Uber rules that Miami-Dade was trying to pass. Commissioners said no, and Ballard dropped the county as a client.

Book's Aventura lobbying firm earned about $120,000 from its county lobbying contract last year, and is asking for $175,000 in 2018. The proposed waiver covers him and two lobbyists Book hired for the pet-store work: Nelson Diaz and Sean Pittman.

In his letter to Miami-Dade, Book minimized his role in the Tallahassee puppy-sales wars. "There is a lobbying team that is assembled that I am overseeing," he said. "I am working to avoid actual lobbying, but I am supervising the lobbying team."