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MAY 3 - 16, 2011
Superintendent: Legislators’ lack of ‘clout’ hurts schools
BY RICHARD YAGER
“T
here’s no clout for Miami-Dade in Tallahassee this year and that’s the real problem,” summarized Miami-Dade Public Schools superintendent Albert Carvalho, speaking in West Kendall on Apr. 20, while urging support for equitable apportionment of state taxes for local education. The school district’s top executive minced no words about the county’s lack of legislator senority during the current session. “Our representation largely consists of first-time representatives, and that’s why we need your strong support in Tallahassee to help balance our budget this year without new taxes or curtailing salaries or curriculum. Otherwise, the dollars we need will go to someone else,” Carvalho said. “We send the most taxes up there of any county in the state, so it’s critically important that we receive a fair share back,” he told a town meeting at Hammocks Middle School hosted by the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations (KFHA) and attended by nearly 200. “Usually we have a strong voice, but for the first time in years there’s no Miami- Dade leader represented in the Senate or House, not even as a vice chair of Appropriations. That makes it tough to get dollars back,” he said. “I have no problem making do within a budget that gives Miami-Dade its fair apportionment of state taxes. Give us the rightful share of tax dollars we send to Tallahassee every year and our system will be just fine.” Carvalho’s message also was scheduled to be delivered Apr. 28 to members of
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SCHOOLS, page 4
No simple answer for high number of police deaths
Meeting to discuss interchange for Shula Xway on Sunset Drive BY RICHARD YAGER
A
From left: CAC chair James Blough congratulates life-saving missions by Hammocks District Police Officers Michael Mallon and Rolando Collada. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
BY RICHARD YAGER
T
ragic deaths of 10 Florida police officers to date in 2011 can only partially be explained by current economic stress, Police Services director Naim Erched told a Miami-Dade Police Hammocks District Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) audience on Mar. 30. “You can search for reasons people are so on edge to explain the number of unprecedented police deaths this year but frankly there’s no single answer. “To prevent such occurrences, safety for all concerned is the top police priori-
ty,” he stated. “The goal for response from emergency phone call to on-scene assistance is targeted for eight minutes or less, with a two to five minute arrival as our objective,” he said. “But response time is only one factor since officers arriving on a dangerous scene must make immediate decisions, not only for those involved but for themselves. “We train officers to value their lives equally with those who they seek to aid or safely disarm in these situations,” –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– See
POLICE, page 4
“partial” interchange with the Shula Expressway (SR 874) on Sunset Drive is being studied by the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) as part of its overall redevelopment of Kendall’s key link to the Miami-Dade expressway system. Residents have been asked to provide input to MDX on the proposal during a public information meeting scheduled for May 4 when MDX representatives explain the project potential from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Sunset Congregational Church, 9025 SW 72 St. “This is part of a long-range study that has been addressing improvements to SR 874 since 2004, based on existing and future traffic demand in southwest Miami-Dade,” said Tere Garcia,
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SHULA, page 4
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