SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2010
Miami Police Major Mirabile Around Town named city ‘Manager-elect’ Showdown BY SUZELL RODRIGUEZ
D
espite the dissent of colleague Velma Palmer, South Miami's City Commission named City of Miami Police Department's Hector Marabile as City Manager-elect September 7. Commissioner Palmer, sole objector in the 4-1 vote appointing Mirabile, characterizing the decision as “rash” since she did not have sufficient time to review qualifications as presented, nor adequately involved in the selection process. Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, however, was adamant to move forward during the special meeting called for the selection since little time had been paid to city business during the last two weeks, other than choosing the manager. Asked if she could abstain from voting, Palmer was told by City Attorney Laurence Feingold that so long as she was present, she must render a vote. With her “nay” vote, the decision was made to approve the hiring of Mirabile with instructions that terms be drawn for his employment in the form of a contract which still needs Commission action at a subsequent meeting. More than 30 years in municipal government, Mirabile, a retired senior military officer with multiple decorations, has served or is associated with several boards and affiliations. Dr. Mirabile’s education includes a Bachelors in Accounting, a Masters in Business Administration, a Masters in Strategic Studies, a Ph.D in Organization Management and Leadership. He has also studied in negotiation courses from Harvard University Law School
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MANAGER, page 5
Read in Minnesota State Fair
at City Hall BY MICHAEL MILLER <Michael@communitynewspapers.com>
Connie Stieger, originally from St. Paul, Minnesota and now a resident of South Miami for 25 years, visited the Minnesota State Fair and of course she took along her favorite newspaper the South Miami News. Connie, thanks for thinking of us.
High school athletes deser ve to know why they didn’t make the cut BY GRANT MILLER
Publisher It is almost impossible for teenagers to put the things that happen to them in school in proper perspective. On the athletic field, in the school parking lot, in the classroom, it’s all the same; it’s always big,
really big; as big as the BP oil spill or flooding in Pakistan. So, when a high school coach casually dismisses a young athlete who tried out for a team and didn’t make it, it’s big. In fact, it can be devastating if it is not handled properly. Young athletes train for years to make a team and if they succeed in their
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ATHLETES, page 9
Last Tu e s d a y n i g h t , was a showdown of sorts with Commissioner Velma Palmer blasting her elected colleagues in the hiring process of the new city manager. She just let ‘er rip, hurling what might be considered insults on the lack of transparency and the commission’s failure to do a complete and thorough background check of the now-appointed city manager, Hector Mirabile. At one point, Mayor Phillip Stoddard exclaimed his colleague had been “Missing in Action” during the interviewing and hiring process, Palmer shooting back: “I was not missing in action” (or MIA, in battlefront bulletins). After that mini-tirade with her fellow-commissioners at a boiling point, a 4-0 vote sanctioned Palmer for her action — whatever that means. My guess is that it was just a way of rapping her knuckles for un-commissionlike behavior. H o w o d d t h a t Vice Mayor Newman voted to sanction Palmer. If anybody should be sanctioned, it should be Vice-Mayor Newman who
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AROUND TOWN, page 3