People always ask: What can I do to make a difference?
UDB ruling wrong
I testified as an intervener on behalf of the state of Florida in the administrative hearing against Miami-Dade County regarding the Lowe's and Brown requests to build beyond the Urban Development Boundary. I disagree with administrative law Judge Bram D.E. Cantor's decision in favor of Brown. The law should be enforced as it is now, not as it might be in 2014.
What if the UDB is not moved; will he vacate his decision? This was not a zoning matter. The judge did not see the wider significance and implications of permitting any building beyond the UDB in relation to future building requests.
The county's Building and Zoning staff and the mayor recommended not approving Brown. Do their opinions count for nothing? How can you live hundreds of miles away, drop out of the sky for a few days, hear limited arguments and render a decision in a complex case with an informed understanding of the subtleties of the issues?
Administrative law judges should live close enough to the jurisdictions where they are rendering decisions so as to be familiar with the context of the matters before them.
BARRY J. WHITE, Miami
NEW YORK TIMES STORY
READERS' COMMENTS
Slump Creates Lack of Mobility for Americans
By SAM ROBERTS
Fewer Americans changed residence in 2008 than in any year since 1962, the Census Bureau said.
Barry's Comment:
April 23, 2009 8:44 am
This is a good thing. Staying put retains, strengthens and builds family and social ties. The social unrest and angst of the last fifty years has destroyed the fabric and nature of our nation. Using the litmus test of how does less mobility affect the economy? is the same as asking how does stopping global warming do so?; both results are bigger than the economy and will, in the long run, benefit it.
— Barry J, Miami
Recommended by 9 Readers (Highest Number of Recommendations
— Barry J, Miami
Return of coat hanger, back alley abortions if Roe vs Wade is overturned
Put the mayor of a town of 6,000 people, who has really never been out of the country, a heartbeat away from the most powerful position on the planet
End of meaningful, life saving stem cell research which would save and extend the lives of diabetics and cancer victims, prevent or correct birth defects and help many others with debilitating illnesses
Continued deepening of our $8 Trillion national dept which will not be paid off for many generations and is being financed by foreign governments
Republicans and Military on John McCain: He will make Cheney look like Gandhi. http://momocrats.typepad.com/momocrats/2008/09republicanns-and.html
No real commitment to affordable health care for every American
Continuation of sending jobs overseas by short sighted, selfish businessmen
Four more years of Karl Rove giving him a chance to complete his totalitarian government takeover.
Continuation of big business’s purchase of our nation through obscene campaign contributions and the influence of lobbyists
Continuation of big oil’s domination of our economy
No meaningful effort to end global warming, clean up our environment or reverse the pollution of our rivers, lakes and streams
No meaningful effort toward use of alternative energies like wind and solar power
Continuation of using military force instead of diplomacy to solve world problems.
A president who will use a telegraph key instead of a mouse, a Model T instead of a hybrid
Social Security privatized into the care of Wall Street
A totally conservative Supreme Court at the service of the president
