Syria ends 54 years chapter of tyrannical rule
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
29,749 views Dec 8, 2024
For more than half a century, Syria had been ruled with an iron fist by the Assad regime. It all came to an end this weekend with lightning speed, as rebels took control of the capital city of Damascus, and with it, the country. What lies ahead now for Syria and the Middle East is an open question. Hassan Hassan, founder and editor in chief of New Lines magazine, joins John Yang to discuss.
Below: Assad, now gone from Syria, a man who had allies and the support of Iran. Today, the world celebrates the END OF TYRANNY in Syria!
In the meantime, Biden appears to fall asleep in Africa
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
A report of Trump's visit, France, 12-2024
A report of Trump's visit, France, 12-2024
A report of Trump's visit, France, 12-2024
A report of Trump's visit with United Kingdom's Prince William
A report of Trump's visit with United Kingdom's Prince William
A report of Trump's visit with United Kingdom's Prince William
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartorinomo 12-08-24
Syria: Assad is gone. He has fled the country. His protector, Russia led by Vladimir Putin was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should NEVER have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and STOP the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!
The figures reported are so alarming: As of 11-17-2024 the New York City Migrant Crisis: 759,218 Overall Illegal Immigrants; 58,626 Convictions / Pending Charges; and 1,053 Suspected Gang Members...
In the meantime, Biden is considering pardoning Liz Chaney, Adam Schiff and his own brother... to issue a pardon is an indication of a desire to protect criminal activity!
As people move to the White House Trump Administration the makeup of Congress and that balance of power continues to change
The fact that Biden is issuing pardons to his son Hunter Biden and others is an admission that crimes were in fact committed!
A Statement from President Joe Biden issued on 12-01-2024
Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter.
From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.?
Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.
Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions.?
It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.? ?
The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.
Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process.?
Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.? ? ?
No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong.
There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution.?In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here.
Enough is enough.? ?
For my entire career I have followed a simple principle:
just tell the American people the truth.
They’ll be fair-minded.?
Here’s the truth:
I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I?hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision.? ?
###
Executive Grant of Clemency Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President of the United States of America ?
To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting: ?
Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto ?
ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN ?
A Full and Unconditional Pardon ?
For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in
Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and
Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. ?
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto signed my name and caused the Pardon to be recorded with the Department of Justice. ?
Done at the City of Washington this 1st day of December in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth.
Miranda Devine is a well known New York Post Columnist and author of the book: The Laptop from Hell...
A message from Leopoldo Aguilera: Alive and Kicking:
Dear Patriotic Friends
I am now 91 years less Young, but still fighting until the Lord calls me!?
I am presently living in a House for the Less Young, but still fighting for Freedom and Sovereighntee in our much loved Cuba and the U.S.A.?
I am sometimes not allowed to reveal what the New World Order Conspiracy is trying to do to enslave us all but, sometimes the right information can be given in combination with other enjoyable news. In this case, the fun allowed me to do this verbally after viewing film of our Carnival.?
Leopoldo Aguilera
How to fight anti-Zionists and antisemites
How do you fight this?
Hamas-Supporting, Antisemitic Columbia Students Are Publishing Hate - RedState, 12/7/24
Whatever happened to the left's notion that the nation's college campuses are no place for hate? Because there sure seems to be a lot of loathing on the nation's campuses now, and some of the most virulent hate has been antisemitic hate. Columbia University even lost a president over this issue when she resigned in disgrace after having been forced to admit that the university did little or nothing to protect its Jewish students.
Now, pro-Hamas students at that university have launched a hate sheet in the form of a newspaper called the "Columbia Intifada." I swear, these kids have not one brain cell among them.
Columbia University’s Students for Justice for Palestine group launched an anti-Israel newspaper called “Columbia Intifada.” The school has since denounced the paper for “discrimination and promoting violence or terror.”
The newspaper, which keeps its authors anonymous, refers to Jews as “colonizers” and “subjugators,” and includes articles titled “Zionist Peace Means Palestinian Blood,” “The Myth of the Two-State Solution,” [i.e., the destruction of Israel] “Palestinian Prisoners,” and a “Guide to Wheatpasting” which instructs students on how to vandalize public property with anti-Israel propaganda. [A few days ago, a staffer for Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has been “suspended without pay indefinitely, pending further investigation” following the exposure of a video showing her tearing down a poster intended to raise awareness for the hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its terror attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Her role within the city office is said to “bridge cultural divides”.]
Anti-Israel student group Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted on Instagram that they distributed the first 1,000 copies of the paper at the Butler Library, with the caption “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
In a statement shared with the Washington Examiner, Columbia University said, “Using the Columbia name for a publication that glorifies violence and makes individuals in our community feel targeted in any way is a breach of our values.”? [And ...?]
That statement from Columbia seems awfully weak sauce when the proper response would be immediate expulsion of any students (and the dismissal of any faculty) who are involved in this. But our university administrators do not often do that which they should, and Columbia is not the only offender in this matter.
Here is one way to fight back.
It’s a fashion brand antisemites will love to hate.
An adjunct professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology who was suspended after getting arrested while counter-protesting an anti-Israel rally is launching a new fashion line he hopes will “piss off the Jew haters.”
Mark Greiz’s Generation Diaspora is touted as a collection of proudly Zionist clothing and accessories launches, offering such items as women’s $20 underwear that boldly proclaim “Kiss My Ham-ass” and $28 T-shirts that read “F*ck Hamas.”
Generation Diaspora is as a grassroots pro-Israel brand aiming to celebrate the shared stories and heritage of Jews living outside of Israel. Courtesy of Generation Diaspora
Greiz was inspired to launch the brand after becoming active in the pro-Israel counter protest movement on the streets of New York City. Courtesy of Generation Diaspora
Another tee reads, “Trigger Warning: This brand contains content that may offend neo-Nazis, Jew-haters, Hamas lovers, self-haters, anti-Zionists and radical leftists.”
Other more poignant pieces include totes that say “Never Forget, Never Forgive,” referring to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists on Israel.
For Greiz, a 56-year-old descendant of Holocaust survivors, the line, which launches on Dec. 10, is more than just selling merchandise.
“The goal for me is not really to change the hearts and minds of people that hate Jews and Israel, but to community among Jews, especially young Jews,” he told The Post.
“I want to collaborate in the future, with other pro-Israel artists, musicians and poets,” he added.
Greiz said his ultimate goal is to help instill pride among young Jewsand build community with like-minded pro-Israel Jews and non-Jews alike. Michael Nagle
Items from the line include bold statements like “Reoccupy Gaza,” “F*ck Hamas” and “Kiss My Ham-ass.”
Courtesy of Generation DiasporaItems from three different collections will be printed on demand and range in price from $20 to $50.
Jared Silverman Email:?? [email protected]
The House of Assad Has Fallen. What's Next?
The House of Assad has fallen in Syria.? Some say it is Russia's Vietnam. The question is "What's next?"? Here are some views.
In Fight for Syria, a Battle for Domination of the Entire Middle East - DNYUZ [NYT reprint], 12/7/24
Whether the rebels succeed or not, experts believe that an expected brutal fight to control Damascus, and by extension Syria, would constitute the most important confrontation yet in the struggle to remake the region, one ignited on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Hamas-led attack on Israel.
The main regional players — Israel, Iran and Turkey — all have a stake in the outcome, which means that the ripples will affect not just the Middle East, but also global powers like the United States and Russia.
If the war in Gaza is the worst manifestation yet of the seemingly intractable Israel-Palestinian dispute, which drew in the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, analysts call the fight for Syria a far more important struggle to dominate a regional crossroads that influences the entire Middle East.
“Syria is the barometer for how power dynamics in the region are changing,” said Mona Yacoubian, head of the Middle East and North Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. “It is in for a period of chaos in a region that is already on fire.”
Israel’s strategists refer to Syria as the “hub of hubs,” which has served as a supply conduit for men and arms to places like southern Lebanon. There, Hezbollah, Iran’s main regional ally, held sway before Israel decimated the group’s ranks by assassinating its longtime leader and much of his top echelon. Israel also launched direct attacks on strategic air defenses in Iran.
Israel is determined to prevent Iran, which has propped up the Assad regime, from re-establishing those supply lines. It is also not clear how Israel would react to an Islamic-style government in Syria should Mr. al-Assad’s regime fall, especially a government beholden to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been a harsh critic because of the Gaza war.
Iran knows that if it loses Mr. al-Assad and its sway over Damascus, it is game over for its attempt to fortify a crescent of Shiite Muslim proxy forces from Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen that can threaten Israel.
Make Persia Great Again - Majid Rafizadeh, Gatestone, 12/7/24
Who Is the Leader of Syria’s Rebel Offensive? - NYT, 12/8/24
After attracting little notice for years, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani spearheaded a stunning lightning offensive that led to the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria after over 13 years of brutal civil war.
Mr. al-Jolani, 42, is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist group once linked to Al Qaeda that has controlled most of Idlib Province, in northwestern Syria, for years during a long stalemate in the conflict.
领英推荐
“By far, he’s the most important player on the ground in Syria,” said Jerome Drevon, a senior analyst of jihad and modern conflict at the International Crisis Group, who has met Mr. al-Jolani several times in the past five years.
Turkey, which shares a 911-kilometer- (566-mile-) long frontier with Syria, has been a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
While Turkish officials have strongly rejected claims of any involvement, observers believe that the offensive, which appears to be aligned with Turkey’s long-time goals, could not have gone ahead without Ankara’s consent.
It has allowed Turkey, through its Syrian proxy the Syrian National Army, to push back against Kurdish forces in Syria allied to its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The jihadi group that spearheaded the 10-day march on Damascus, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, is listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. However, Turkey has operated alongside it for years in northern Syria and is believed to exert significant influence over the group.
Jared Silverman Email:?? [email protected]
Shapiro [WE]: Soviet ghosts and campus antisemitism
Back to the future, the 1970s that is, by Ilya Shapiro is the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and an emigre from the former Soviet Union.
The rise in antisemitism on college campuses since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel has ignited debates over the limits of free speech and the type of environment that universities want to create for students. However, the crisis in higher education runs much deeper than the rules governing protests or universities’ better-late-than-never embrace of institutional neutrality. The root of America’s collegiate ills, such as the reemergence of the “oldest hatred,” lies in the ideological capture of students and faculty.
Antisemitism has long been a feature of ideologically closed societies. Most notable is the 1930-1945 Nazi regime that produced the horrors of the Holocaust. A horror in which 6 million innocent Jews were murdered simply because they were Jews. However, antisemitism was also a major element of the 20th century’s other great totalitarian regime: the Soviet Union.
Indeed, many modern talking points on anti-Zionism, which are used as a cloak for antisemitism, are derived from Soviet propaganda. The KGB even supervised the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Republic, which issued brochures such as the “Criminal Alliance of Zionism and Nazism.” Modern supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah and their useful-idiot fellow travelers on college campuses are reinvoking these same tropes in their accusations against the only Jewish state.
Jared Silverman Email:?? [email protected]
?THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Soviet ghosts and campus antisemitism
Ilya Shapiro
December 6, 2024
The rise in antisemitism on college campuses since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel has ignited debates over the limits of free speech and the type of environment that universities want to create for students. However, the crisis in higher education runs much deeper than the rules governing protests or universities' better-late-than-never embrace of institutional neutrality. The root of America’s collegiate ills, such as the reemergence of the “ oldest hatred ,” lies in the ideological capture of students and faculty.
Antisemitism has long been a feature of ideologically closed societies. Most notable is the 1930-1945 Nazi regime that produced the horrors of the Holocaust. A horror in which 6 million innocent Jews were murdered simply because they were Jews. However, antisemitism was also a major element of the 20th century’s other great totalitarian regime: the Soviet Union.
Indeed, many modern talking points on anti-Zionism, which are used as a cloak for antisemitism, are derived from Soviet propaganda. The KGB even supervised the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Republic , which issued brochures such as the “ Criminal Alliance of Zionism and Nazism .” Modern supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah and their useful-idiot fellow travelers on college campuses are reinvoking these same tropes in their accusations against the only Jewish state.
Antisemitism has likewise been a perennial feature of political extremism. A closed worldview needs enemies, so Jews have historically been the scapegoat for the failures of corrupt and autocratic rule. The communists used Zionist conspiracies to deflect blame for the economic and social problems of the Soviet Union. Soviet-supported dictatorships in the Middle East used similar tools to deflect responsibility for their own shortcomings. Campuses have seen a similar dynamic ever since the Port Huron Statement of 1962, when leftist groups openly declared their intention to capture universities. Now, after decades of incubating, educating, and fomenting activist politics both in the classroom and through educational bureaucracies, the same blame-the-Jew games have burst forth.
Another parallel between our current campus climate and that of communist regimes is public shaming— a key feature of Stalin’s Great Purge in the 1930s and Mao’s Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Forced public confessions for ideological offenses were central to the elimination of political opposition. At America’s universities, the expurgation of dissidents shows how narrow the Overton window of acceptable discourse is in places where even small speaker events are shut down over perceived slights and manufactured outrage.
Some of us have “lived experience” with this sort of thing. When I faced cancellation for a post about Supreme Court nominations, I encountered the Soviet-style DEI bureaucracy at Georgetown University. The inquisitors from the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action wanted nothing more than my confession of guilt to appease students who were angered by my critique of racial preferences. As I detail in my book?Lawless , the diversicrats tried to get me to admit and repent for my offenses against political correctness.
Eventually, IDEAA absolved me on a technicality, but put out a 10-page report noting that if I were to make similar comments again, I would be creating a “hostile educational environment” that would return me to the Star Chamber. No sane person could work like that, so I quit.
That entire investigation was designed to ensure my loyalty and submission to prevailing leftist orthodoxy. The struggle sessions demanded of apostates liken modern universities to the fanatical atmosphere of revolutionary regimes.
So, it should be no surprise that this ideological control spreads to teachings about the Middle East. Political science, history, and area studies departments focus almost exclusively on European colonialism and its attempt to subjugate non-white peoples, typically through “exploitative capitalism.” Israel is at the center of this “settler-colonialism,” according to the Left, so all violence in the Middle East is presented as resistance to Israeli aggression.
This same view as the Arab nationalists of the 1960s and the Islamists of the 1970s, both supported by the Soviet Union, is now being parroted to America’s college students. Meanwhile, all history before the World War I-era division of formerly Ottoman-controlled territory among European powers or the status of Jews in Muslim lands is ignored. The Arab-Israeli wars, which even after 70 years may have only killed 150,000 people on both sides, are more closely studied (and Israel’s self-defense condemned) than any larger-scale conflicts such as the Iran-Iraq War or the actual genocides in Syria and Kurdistan, which have each left more than half a million people dead.
This type of education unsurprisingly produces students who have a dogmatic view of a specific, intractable problem whose root is the refusal to accept the existence of a pluralistic state in the ancestral Jewish homeland. Campus encampments are the result of this disingenuous advocacy reaching its logical endpoint: incoherent (“Queers for Palestine”) activism.
As university governments resemble one-party states, with even deans of elite law schools quailing under pressure from DEI commissars, it’s no surprise that they suffer from the same pathological sclerosis as the Soviet Union. Antisemitic encampments and investigations into faculty speech are just another feature of the illiberal capture of the university.
It’s high time to tear down those ideological walls and return universities to their original missions, with a focus on scholarship and education rather than activism and indoctrination.
Ilya Shapiro is the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and author of the forthcoming Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites .?He also writes the Shapiro’s Gavel newsletter on Substack.
Miami Lakes Mayor Joshua Dieguez invitation to the Swearing-In Ceremony to be held on Tuesday, 12-10-2024 @ 6:00 PM @ Government Center: Be there!
12-10-2024 Agenda is now online:
TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA AGENDA Special Meeting
December 10, 2024 @ 6:30 PM @ Government Center, 6601 Main Street Miami Lakes, FL33014 Video stream of meetings can be viewed here:
1. SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE ELECTED TOWN COUNCILMEMBERS AT 6:00 PM??
2. CALL TO ORDER
3. ROLL CALL
4. MOMENT OF SILENCE
5. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
6. ELECTION OF VICE MAYOR
7. ORDER OF BUSINESS (DEFERRALS, ADDITIONS, AND DELETIONS)
8. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Please be advised that this public meeting is open to the public and will be held in Town Hall Government Center, 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes, FL 33014. Public Meetings will be held at the physical meeting location stated above. For access to the meeting agendas please visit www.miamilakes-fl.gov/agenda. For Live video stream of meetings please visit?www.miamilakes-fl.gov/agenda
Public Comments will be accepted by the following means:
(1) Join the meeting via: https://www.miamilakes-fl.gov/remotecomments. You must have a working microphone and working web camera in order to participate in live remote public comments. If you wish to speak you must raise your hand by clicking on the Reactions icon and selecting?Raise Hand. IT will allow each participant to speak one at a time as the Raise Hand icon appears. If you would like to show your live feed/video, please request it when unmuted to speak.
(2) Call in live during the meeting to listen to the meeting via phone and/or to participate in public comments. If you wish to speak, please raise your hand by pressing *9. This will show the Raise Hand icon on the screen and IT will allow each participant to speak one at a time as the Raise Hand icon appears.
You may call in to any of the following numbers: +1 786-635-1003 +1 312-626-6799
+1 929-205-6099 +1 253-215-8782 +1 301-715-8592 +1 346-248-7799
+1 699-900-6833
PLEASE ENTER THE MEETING ID# WHEN PROMPTED: 666 475 152#
Public Comments will be heard at the beginning of each meeting and once all are heard, Public Comments will be closed. Each speaker will be afforded (3) minutes to speak.
All comments or questions from the attending public shall be directed to the mayor, in a courteous tone. To ensure the orderly conduct and efficiency of the meeting, public comments shall be limited to three (3) minutes maximum per person.
No clapping, applauding, heckling, verbal outburst in support of, or in opposition to a speaker or his/her remarks shall be permitted. Should a member of the attending audience become unruly or behave in any manner that disrupts the orderly and efficient conduct of the meeting, such person will be asked to leave the meeting. As a courtesy to others, all electronic devices must be set to silent mode to avoid disruption of the proceedings.
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, PERSONS NEEDING SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING SHOULD CALL TOWN HALL AT (305) 364-6100, BY 5 PM, NO LATER THAN (2) BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING FOR ASSISTANCE.?
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
a. Award of Construction Contract for the Sevilla Estates Phase 1 Drainage Improvement Project (Marrero)
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT FOR ITB 2024-28, TO HARTEC GROUP, INC. (“HARTEC”) IN AN AMOUNT OF? TWO MILLION, EIGHTY-SEVEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED NINETY DOLLARS AND 00/100 ($2,087,490.00), AND AUTHORIZE A PROJECT CONTINGENCY OF APPROXIMATELY TEN PERCENT (10%) FOR AN AMOUNT OF TWO HUNDRED EIGHT THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED FORTY-NINE DOLLARS 00/100 ($208,749.00); APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE CONTINGENCY?RESERVE LINE-ITEM INTO 405-563805-ARP04; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
DETAIL BY LINE ITEM: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29369
b. Award of Construction Engineering Inspection Work Order for the Sevilla Estates Phase 1 Drainage Improvement Project (Santos)?
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING A WORK ORDER, PURSUANT TO CONTRACT 2021-43 FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING AND RELATED SERVICES, WITH 300 ENGINEERING GROUP, LLC, FOR SEVILLA PHASE I DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND INSPECTION (CEI) SERVICES FOR AN AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY FIVE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED FOUR DOLLARS AND 00/100 ($185,504.00) NOT TO EXCEED BUDGETED FUNDS; MODIFYING THE TOWN BUDGET APPROVED BY ORDINANCE NO. 24-330; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY OF TOWN OFFICIALS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR ROUNDING; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
DETAIL BY LINE ITEM: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29358
c. Award of Construction Contract for the Royal Oaks Third and Fourth Drainage Improvement Project (Marrero)
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT FOR ITB 2025-02, TO PEDRAIL SYSTEM, LLC (“PEDRAIL”) IN AN AMOUNT OF? ONE MILLION FOUD HUNDRED SEVENTY FOUR THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY NINE DOLLARS AND 86/100 ($1,474,539.86) AND AUTHORIZE A PROJECT CONTINGENCY OF ONE HUNDRED FORTY SEVEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE DOLLARS AND 99/100 ($147,453.99) APPROXIMATELY TEN PERCENT (10%) CONTINGENCY TO BE UTILIZED FOR ALL TASKS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION, DESIGN, INSPECTIONS, AND ANY UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES RELATED TO THE PROJECT IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED BUDGETED FUNDS; APPROVING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE CONTINGENCY RESERVE LINE-ITEM INTO 405-563805-ARP10; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.?
MEMO:
3RD & 4TH ADDITION: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29372
DETAIL BY LINE ITEM: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29373
d. Award of Construction Engineering Work Order for the Royal Oaks Third and Fourth Drainage Improvement Project (Santos)
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING A WORK ORDER, PURSUANT TO CONTRACT 2021-43 FOR CIVIL ENGINEERING AND RELATED SERVICES, WITH CALVIN, GIORDANO AND ASSOCIATES, INC., FOR ROYAL OAKS THIRD AND FOURTH ADDITION DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING AND INSPECTION (CEI) SERVICES FOR AN AMOUNT OF TWO HUNDRED NINE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED NINETY-THREE DOLLARS AND 24/100 ($209,293.24) NOT TO EXCEED BUDGETED FUNDS; MODIFYING THE TOWN BUDGET APPROVED BY ORDINANCE NO. 24-330; PROVIDING FOR AUTHORITY OF TOWN OFFICIALS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR ROUNDING; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute a work order with Calvin, Giordano and Associates, Inc. (“CGA”) for professional engineering services, in an amount of $209,293.24, not to exceed the budgeted funds under existing Contract 2021-43 for Civil Engineering and Related Services. This work order may be funded by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds.
Background:
On May 11, 2021, the Town Council adopted Resolution No. 21-1744 authorizing the Town Manager to receive and accept federal monies provided by the ARP and provided authority to expend ARP funds to improve its stormwater infrastructure.
On August 13, 2021, the Town executed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Agreement. This agreement allocated a total of $15,710,276.00 to the Town.
Of these funds, staff is recommending that the work order proposal amounts be allocated from the contingency reserve line-item to the project as presented in Exhibit “B” for Calvin, Giordano and Associates, Inc.
Town Staff have negotiated the scope of work and fee for professional engineering services for the following stormwater improvement project:
? Royal Oaks Third and Fourth Addition Drainage Improvement Project Drainage Improvements Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Services – Work Order No. 8 for $209,293.24.
Therefore, Town Staff recommends that the Town Manager transfer funds from the Contingency Reserve line- item in the amount of $209,293.24 into Royal Oaks Third and Fourth Addition Drainage Improvement Project line-item, (405-563805-ARP10) in order to fully fund this Project.
Attachments:
Resolution Exhibit A (Work Order Proposal) Exhibit B (Budget)
Royal Oaks Third and Fourth Addition Drainage Improvements Location Map
CONSULTANT PROJECT PROPOSAL: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29361
DETAIL BY LINE ITEM: https://pub-miamilakes.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=29363
e. Award of Contract for State Lobbying Service RFP 2024-24 (Marrero)
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, APPROVING THE AWARD OF A CONTRACT FOR RFP NO. 2024-24, STATE LOBBYING SERVICES TO SUN CITY STRATEGIES, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED THIRTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR, AND THE SOUTHERN GROUP, IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED FORTY EIGHT THOUSAND DOLLARS PER YEAR, AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE CONTRACT; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to execute contracts with Sun City Strategies (“Sun City”), the highest ranked proposer in an amount not to exceed $3,000 per month or $36,000 per year and The Southern Group, the second ranked proposer, in an amount not to exceed $4,000 per month or $48,000 per year, for State Lobbying Services. The contracts will be for three (3) year periods with two (2) one-year options to renew.
Background
The Town of Miami Lakes (“Town”) is concerned about the introduction and passage of state legislation that may impact the Town. The Town must be aware of legislation that will benefit the Town and be proactive in supporting such legislation and obtaining its benefits. Conversely, the Town is concerned about the introduction and passage of legislation that could affect its ability to exert local control, while protecting its local budget and mitigating the impacts of unfunded mandates. In addition, state appropriations to local governments are a key source of capital improvement funding for many municipalities. Miami Lakes benefits from state appropriations for many infrastructure improvements, such as drainage and road improvement projects.
The Town issued Request for Proposal (“RFP”) 2024-24 for State Lobbying Services on August 26, 2024. The RFP was advertised in the Community Newspapers, posted to DemandStar, Public Purchase, and posted in the Government Center Lobby.
To qualify for award, prospective Proposers were required to:
On the date of the proposal deadline, September 27, 2024, we received two (2) proposals from the following Proposers:
1. Sun City Strategies (“Sun City”)
2. The Southern Group (“Southern Group”)
An Evaluation Committee was appointed, comprised of the following members:
1. Olivia Shock, Grants Administrator, Town of Miami Lakes
2. Tony Lopez, Deputy Town Manager, Town of Miami Lakes
3. Ramiro Inguanzo, Assistant Village Manager, Bal Harbour Village
Procurement performed a due diligence review of the proposals for responsiveness and found that review of each proposal did not reveal any material defects in the proposal, nor in the Proposers’ qualifications. Each Proposer has been in business for more than five (5) years, provided at least three (3) client references demonstrating the successful completion of at least three (3) lobbying services, and have no professional and/or ethical conflict with the Town’s interest. Procurement did not find any issues that would indicate any Proposer was incapable of performing the Services.
The Evaluation Committee was provided the responsive proposals and met November 14, 2024, to evaluate and rank the proposals.
At the conclusion of this meeting, the Evaluation Committee moved to establish the following ranking:
1. Sun City Strategies (“Sun City”) – 281 pts
2. The Southern Group (“Southern Group”) – 258.5 pts
Sun City Strategies is a well-established boutique consulting firm with 11 years of experience specializing in government affairs, focusing primarily on the Miami Dade delegation and the Executive branch. Since its founding in 2013, the firm has successfully secured millions of dollars in funding for clients throughout the State of Florida. Notable local clients include the City of Doral, City of Hialeah, and City of Hialeah Gardens.
Under the leadership of Eduardo "Eddy" Gonzalez, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, Sun City Strategies brings extensive expertise in securing appropriations and navigating the legislative process. With over 11 years of experience lobbying on behalf of municipalities, Mr. Gonzalez and his team are committed to advancing the Town’s goals.
Sun City Strategies has also been instrumental in securing substantial funding for a variety of local projects, often collaborating with other lobbying firms, including NW 59th Avenue Extension and Redevelopment, Miami Lakes Montrose Drainage Improvements, Loch Lomond Phase II Drainage Improvements and Miami Lakes NW 154th St. and Palmetto Express Turn Lanes, among others.
The second proposer, The Southern Group, has been the Town’s state lobbyist since 2014. During that time, they have been able to support the Town in securing approx. $5 million funding for drainage improvement projects, roadway extensions and canal bank stabilization project. Southern Group has been in business for 25 years with over 40 lobbyists, spanning from the Florida Keys to the panhandle. Southern Group has an extensive research & reporting system to keep clients abreast of the progress of bills as they make their way through the legislative process, which has proven to be helpful to the Town. They proposed Nelson Diaz and Kate DeLoach to lead the effort to secure appropriations for the Town. Mr. Diaz has more than 15 years of experience lobbying on behalf of municipalities and Ms. DeLoach served for 6 years as a Legislative Aide in the Florida House of Representatives before joining The Southern Group. Because of their longstanding relationship with the Town, their experience working with its elected officials, and in-depth knowledge of the Town’s legislative agenda, it is recommended that the Town also contract with the Southern Group.
f. 2025 FDOT Transportation Alternatives Grant (Shock)
A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MIAMI LAKES, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO APPLY FOR AND ACCEPT THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES GRANT; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO TAKE ALL NECESSARY STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES GRANT; AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO EXPEND BUDGETED FUNDS; PROVIDING FOR INCORPORATION OF RECITALS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
MEMO:
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Town Council authorize the Town Manager to apply for a 2025 Transportation Alternatives (TA) Grant for the Miami Lakes NW 170th Greenway Improvements Project in an amount not to exceed $1,303,000, and if funded, to authorize the Town Manager to accept grant funds, execute the grant agreement, take all necessary steps to implement the terms and conditions of the agreement, and to expend budgeted funds in connection with this Project. The Town’s match source includes the People’s Transportation Plan (PTP) of $197,000 to be budgeted in the Capital Projects Fund for FY2031
Background
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Transportation Alternatives (TA) Grant Program provides funding for design and construction of safe routes, on-road, and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized forms of transportation; including sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure, pedestrian and bicycle signals, traffic calming techniques, lighting, and safety-related infrastructure transportation projects to achieve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Projects are typically programmed in the new fifth year of the FDOT’s Tentative Work Program. Agencies are invited to submit applications for projects that can be developed for Fiscal Year 2031.
The TA Grant will assist the Town in funding the Miami Lakes NW 170th Greenway Improvements Project. The Project will take place along NW 170th street from NW 89th Avenue to NW 77th Court. The Project will provide improvements to the pedestrian and bicycle safety- related infrastructure in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and align with the Town’s ADA Master Plan, Greenways and Trails Master Plan, Strategic Plan, and Complete Streets Implementation Plan. The Greenway is existing, but this project is focusing on safety improvements including lighting, bollards, crosswalk signalization, repaving, curbing, pavement markings and signage. No trees are anticipated to be impacted in connection with this Project.
The Project total is estimated at $1.5 million. No more than $1.5 million of TA Grant funds will be awarded to any single project in any single application cycle. Part of the TA Grant technical review evaluation criteria includes the local agency funding contribution. The Town’s match source includes the People’s Transportation Plan (PTP) of $197,000 for design and CEI services to be budgeted in the Capital Projects Fund for FY2031
10. NEW BUSINESS ITEMS
a. Blasting Related Lobbying Activities for Upcoming Legislative Events & Advocacy Opportunities (Herzberg)
Recommendation:
December 10, 2024
I’d like to discuss coordinating our approach to blasting-related lobbying activities and potential legal action. This is particularly important in preparation for upcoming legislative events and advocacy opportunities prior to the start of the 2025 legislative session, which may occur before our first regularly scheduled meeting on January 21, 2025. Adding this item would allow the Town Council to align on priorities and ensure we’re prepared to act effectively and immediately.
11. ATTORNEY'S REPORT
12. ADJOURNMENT
This meeting is open to the public. A copy of this Agenda and the backup has been posted on the Town of Miami Lakes Website at miamilakes-fl.gov and is available at Town Hall, 6601 Main Street, Miami Lakes 33014.?