Miami-Dade mega mall: A new, and shinier, insider deal?

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or the rocket surgeon or the brilliant media consultant. Not everybody can write code or build an artificial lung. Some people have to ask if you want fries with that at the mega mall and others have to empty the trash bins in the food court after you have fries with that. Ladra worked at Burdine’s when she was a high school pup. At International Mall, no less. But whether it is a stepping stone or college or high school job or a job for someone like my ex-mother in law, who speaks no English and has neither skills nor teeth, these low-on-the-totem-pole positions are needed, too.

So how come everyone is freaking out about this not-so-bad, pie-in-the-sky deal that may never happen? Hmmm, maybe because Gimenez is involved. And that makes it suspicious from the get go.

Why on Earth is the mayor taking credit for this? Why was he talking to the developer in the first place? There is no county land or dollars at play. What did he make happen? There’s going to be some zoning change requests and Ladra is fairly certain the developers will want to intensify the use. So, once again, is it appropriate for the developer to be meeting behind closed doors with the mayor for a year? Just like in that Donald Trump golf course thing, if there is something that is a good idea for the county, let’s talk about it openly and let everyone participate. To give Trump or Triple Five a year’s head start stinks to high heaven and is the very definition of inside deal. Why is this the first we hear of it? Why does the mayor keep doing that when he has to notice that we don’t like these surprises? The people already think he is too cozy comfy with lobbyists and developers and special interests and he keeps coming up with more reasons to mistrust him?

Read related story: It’s hard to believe Donald Trump & Carlos Gimenez

Dude, here’s some free advice again, even though you haven’t listened to Ladra for a long time now Take a cue from the audience and start doing your job as mayor instead of the Beacon Council’s job of recruiting firms to relocate here or build here. What you need to focus on is ensuring that we have the infrastructure and service levels to attract and keep these firms.

Ladra thinks people are also tired of hearing Gimenez say that no local tax dollars will be used. What he doesn’t say — but has to know — is that Triple Five sought state subsidies in both Minnesota, where Mall of the America is, and New Jersey, where they are building American Dream Meadowlands, a project after which the Miami mega mall is designed and which has been delayed for years. Triple Five is likely to seek Tallahassee dollars for this project, too, and guess what? Those are still our tax dollars. You don’t think Gimenez keeps conveniently forgetting that we in Miami-Dade also pay state sales taxes, do you? You think he doesn’t know Miami-Dade is a donor municipality for the state? Aren’t any state dollars sought, then, local tax dollars? He knows all this. But saying “no local taxes will be used” sounds better.

That’s not saying that the mega mall shouldn’t get the incentives. I’m not ready to say that.

I’m not ready to smile and go shopping either, mind you. But this mega mall doesn’t sound the same alarms in my head as the multiple, better-than-the-last Dolphin stadium deals, the Portside soccer stadium proposal, Miami SkyRise and Donald Trump taking over a public golf course.

It doesn’t even begin to smell as bad. But, hey, let’s give it a few days in the hot Miami political sun.

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  Carlos Gimenez, Miami-Dade Mayor 2016, Raquel Regalado