FYI Miami


		Week of September 27, 2001


	Local government, private industry draw battle plans for economic war
	United asks airport to table capital improvements
	Miami commissioners to seek bond issue as jobs generator
	Growth projections revive talks on dedicated transportation funds
	Florida flight trainers face first wave of setbacks from new restrictions
	Miami Symphony musicians to start new season without pay
	If stadium talks resume, team wants league to join

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FYI Miami is a weekly feature of Miami Today, keeping readers ahead of the news. Here are highlights from the most current edition.

   RENT RELIEF: Miami commissioners Tuesday voted 4-1, with Commissioner Wifredo Gort dissenting, to defer lease payments from business owners renting space in city-owned properties if they can show their business has suffered from a lack of tourists. Those who qualify would not pay rent from October to December and would resume lease payments in January. They would have to pay rent due in monthly installments by Sept. 30, 2002. Commissioner Tomás Regalado proposed the measure. City Manager Carlos Gimenez estimated the impact on city finances as minimal. "The impact won't be so big that it can not be absorbed," he said.
   FEE HOLD: City of Miami commissioners Tuesday voted 3-2 to maintain a solid waste fee at $325 a household, nixing a $20 hike called for in a five-year plan. The move cuts $1.3 million from the 2001-02 fiscal year budget that starts Oct. 1. Commissioners Arthur Teele and Johnny Winton voted against the measure. "If we pass this reduction," Mr. Teele said, "we are going to have to take out reserves to make the number works," which he called "financial hypocrisy."
   BUDGET OK: City of Miami commissioners Tuesday also approved a $319 million budget for the coming fiscal year, down from $341 million in '00-01. The property tax remains $8.995 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
   SPORTING EXTENSION: Miami Commissioner Johnny Winton, vice chairman of the Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority, landlord for the Miami Arena, said the authority had extended a management contract with SMG for 60 days. The contract to mange the arena was to expire Sept. 30. The authority is negotiating a new contract with SMG while analyzing alternatives to running the venue.
   INTERNATIONAL TABLE: A new season of international roundtables sponsored by Miami Today begins with "Shifting Relations," a look at Miami's links with Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela amid global security concerns, at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 4 in the 7th floor Media Room at the co-sponsoring Union Planters Bank, 2800 Ponce de Leon Building, Coral Gables. Scheduled panelists are Jerry Haar, senior research associate at the UM North-South Center and director of its InterAmerican Business & Labor Program; Harold E. Patricoff Jr., partner with Shutts & Bowen and a director for the Trade Mission Center of the Americas, and Rodrigo Ocampo, vice president and managing director for Latin America with A.T. Kearney. Michael Hayes, Miami Today international editor, will moderate. Seating is limited; reservations required. Details: Techy Fernandez, (305) 358-2663 or miamitodaynews.com.
   LEGAL LAUNCH: Florida International University announced five appointments for its law college, due to open in 2002 and to accept its first class this fall. Scott F. Norberg, associate law dean at Mississippi College, was named law professor and associate dean for academic affairs while Michelle D. Mason, formerly at Rutgers University, was named associate dean for admissions & student services. Sarah Hooke Lee from William Mitchell College of Law was named associate professor and law library & information technology director. FIU administrators Alma Ocasio Miro and Lourdes Aguila Meneses were named director of admissions & financial aid and director of budget & student records, respectively.
   DOWNTOWN LEASES: Guilford & Rash and Liebler Gonzales & Portuondo law firms signed five-year leases for 3,500 and about 4,600 square feet respectively in Courthouse Tower, 44 W Flagler St., said Carol Ellis-Cutler, vice president of Abood & Associates, which represented the landlord in the transactions. Stephen F. Evans with USAA Realty was co-broker in the Liebler Gonzalez lease.
   ART LECTURE: A talk by Robert Farris Thompson, exhibit curator for "Face of the Gods: Art & Altars of Africa & the African Americans" and professor of African and African-American art history at Yale University, has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. Sept. 28 in Room AT-100 at The Art Museum at FIU, University Park Campus, Southwest Eighth Street and 107th Avenue, PC 110. Details: (305) 348-2890.
   WALKING DOWNTOWN: The Downtown Miami Partnership has published The Official Downtown Miami Historic Walking Map & Business Directory as part of its efforts to marketing and promotion effort. Jose E. Correa, executive director, said 150,000 have been printed and will be distributed by more than 20 hotels, participating businesses, Miami International Airport, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Downtown Development Authority. Next month, Ms. Correa said, her agency will being guided walking tours on Saturday mornings. Details: (305) 379-7070.
   HEALTHSOUTH COMPLEX: Groundbreaking for HealthSouth's four-story, 38,000-square-foot outpatient surgery, physical therapy and medical office complex, 20601 E Dixie Hwy., Aventura, was held Tuesday. Larry Taylor, HealthSouth president & COO, said the building is due to open in second quarter 2002.
   POSTER ART: The Miami Design Preservation League named M. Kungl to do the poster for its 25th anniversary event Jan. 18-20 while the Miami Beach Festival of the Arts named Kenny Scharf to create its 2002 "Miameyeman" poster for the event Feb. 9 & 10.
   BILTMORE TOUR: The Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables, is holding a two-hour lecture and tour at 10 a.m. Oct. 6 when Dwight Young, senior communications associate, National Historic Trust, is scheduled to speak on "The Heyday of the Grand Hotel, 1880-1930." Gene Prescott, Biltmore president, said the presentation is part of the property's public outreach efforts to "offer a way for those who may not have the opportunity to visit the hotel to come and learn of its colorful past and role in the development of this area." Reservations are requested. Details: (305) 445-8066, ext. 2340.
   BEACH MOVES: After two years of working out of a temporary office at 333 41st St., the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce moves Sept. 28 to renovated offices at 1920 Meridian Ave. The chamber re-opens for business at its modernized home Oct. 1, although a date for a grand re-opening has not been set. It would likely be in late November, said Chief Operating Officer Gabi Doria.
   MUSEUM AWARD: The Miami Museum of Science & Space Planetarium received the National Award for Museum & Library Science from the federal Institute of Museum & Library Services, the "most distinguished award bestowed on a museum or library nationwide," according to publicists.
   AFTER-SCHOOL TERM: Afterschool Alliance, which bills itself as an organization that promotes after-school programs, named State Rep. Annie Betancourt one of 25 ambassadors in the country. Ms. Betancourt, a Miami-Dade Public Schools administrator and project coordinator of 21st Century Community Learning Centers, serves a one-year term to build support for after-school among parents and policymakers. "It's important because the concern many parents have is, where are my kids after school?" Ms. Betancourt said. She said the programs "reinforce some of the academics and tutorials for some kids who need help." Thirteen schools in Miami-Dade participate in the program.

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