Dan Ricker- Watchdog Report Reprinted with his permission.

The Miami Commission Thursday night at 11:05 p.m. voted 3-2 to approve a move by Mercy Hospital to modify the Comprehensive Land Use, a land change issue, to allow the institution to sell and develop land for three 30 story high end condominiums and despite a six hour contentious debate on the item, the Related Groups development plans moved forward. The ordinance will come back in front of the commission one more time since it was a first reading.

A number of modifications have been added to the deal but there was concern that the Catholic Arch Diocese and La Salle School might also want to sell its adjacent land to developers if the price is right.

It is rare at City Hall when you get the record attendance of residents as was the case the other night. The last time I saw this passion was when the Cloisters project in the Central Grove was proposed around 1998 and it was to be built on the land that separated the Historic Barnacle from Peacock Park. The state of Florida waited for over two decades for Miami to acquire the land and make it into the Grove?s little central park but that was not to be.

Former Commissioner J.L. Plummer was supposed to get the deal done but he failed and even voted for the high end development even though hundreds of residents opposed the deal. At the time his arrogance toward the dissenting public was appalling and contributed to his loss in 1999 after 29 years being a commissioner.

The Watchdog Report writes about the Cloisters project because it was one of things that activated me to do what I am now doing and the Mercy deal may be another project that dooms a historical and environmental treasure, the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

In the museum?s case, located north of the proposed condominiums the executive director and board members pleaded for a break noting this development will dwarf the community treasure and change the experience people get when they visit the museum.

The public might get one more crack at stopping this development but if the past is any indication, regardless of how many people turn out, it appears the Miami commission is committed to the project even though the district?s commissioner Marc Sarnoff is against it along with 2009 mayoral candidate Commissioner Tomas Regalado.

Ethan Green

This is a call to take action & demonstrate against the Jan 31-Feb 1 "Coaltrans Americas" convention happening at the Ritz Carlton on Key Biscayne, Less than 5 miles driving from downtown Miami --- the coal industry will be holding their annual meeting. We owe it to our children to consider smarter, cleaner, healthier options for meeting our energy needs rather than lock ourselves into dirty, backward technology that will worsen childhood asthma and make global warming much worse.

The largest annual convention of coal-industry corporations throughout the Americas is meeting at Miami's on January 31st and February 1st, 2007. The coal industry is guilty of poisoning air and water, and destroying massive expanses of irreplaceable land with "mountain-top removal" (MTR) coal-mining.

Despite the fact that global warming is accelerating every day, over 150 new coal power plants are now planned to be built in the United States, including one in Florida's Everglades. We need to slow down this rush for coal, and consider alternatives that better meet our future energy needs, benefit consumers and the environment, and protect public health- both in 2007 and in 2057.

Come join us!

Helen Spivey

Save the Manatee Club is asking residents to contact the governor in an effort to stop the FWC?s downlisting of manatees.

The FWC?s recently released draft of their Manatee Management Plan, which is the final step in lowering the manatee?s classification on the state?s imperiled species list, allows a 30-percent decline in the population in three generations, according to the Save the Manatee Club.

In the last 10 years, more than 3,100 manatees have died from all causes, with 760 of those animals killed by boats. To that end, the FWC launched Operation Mermaid to remind boaters to slow down for manatees.

Although Save the Manatee Club praises law enforcement initiatives such as Operation Mermaid, and encourages the public to support additional funding for enforcement on the water, the concern remains about future plans to protect Florida?s manatees.

?Such a catastrophic loss is effectively being sanctioned by the state and will be absolutely unacceptable to Floridians and people around the world who care about these unique and defenseless animals,? said Patrick Rose, executive director of Save the Manatee Club. ?And since the plan is geared toward avoiding greater than a 30-percent loss rather than attaining an optimum sustainable population, it will be impossible to hold the state accountable for protecting manatees from escalating human-related threats such as watercraft strikes, loss of warm-water habitat, and destruction of habitat associated with development and climate change.?

The club encourages the public to contact Gov. Charlie Crist at char- lie.crist@myflorida.com, or by phone at (850) 488-7146.

Regina Johnson

Renewable energy can provide as much as 700 gigawatts (GW) of U.S. power capacity by 2030 ? more than enough to achieve the goal of 25 percent of energy supply from renewable sources by 2025.

That was the cumulative estimate from expert presenters at the ?Phase II of Renewable Energy in America? conference, which gathered more than 450 industry, policy and technology leaders Nov. 29-30 in Washington, D.C. The event, hosted by the American Council on RenewableEnergy, focused on the rospects and policy requirements for widespread renewable energy deployment.

Authorities in solar, wind, hydropower, ocean energy, geothermal energy, biomass and biofuels estimated that, with favorable policies, these technologies could provide 550?700 GW ? a significant portion ? of U.S. power capacity by 2030. Renewable energy represented 6 percent of the nation?s total energy supply in 2004, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Access presentations at h ttp://www.acore.org/programs/06policy.php.

This article is republished courtesy of SOLAR TODAY, the award-winning magazine published by the American Solar Energy Society and dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. http://www.solarto day.org.

Even though the City of Miami Beach's Design Review Board has rejected a Miami Beach Condo that illegally restricted access to Biscayne Bay, the condos are fighting the board.

Members of the Waverly and the Flamingo are appealing the decision. The fight for public access will continue!!

The next Design Review Board meeting for this issue is February 6, 2007 at Miami Beach City Hall.

Contact Kent Harrison Robbins for details. We will need you!

Coky Michel

What did 45 Miami Sierrans do on December 31st in Coconut Grove with ten buildings, three cranes, and six cars? We participated in the annual King Mango Strut, the wackiest and funniest parade in the U. S., where nothing or no one is sacred. 2006 marked the Strut?s twenty-fifth year; the Miami Sierra Club group has been a highlight of this parade for the past eighteen years.

Anybody who lives in Miami will understand our ?tongue-in-cheek? theme: ?SIERRA CLUB SALUTES DEVELOPMENT: TOO MUCH IS NEVER ENOUGH!? The whole city is crowded with new, uncontrolled development. Skyscrapers are competing against one another for the little view of the ocean that we have left, and there are cranes everywhere, destroying the old and building new, massive structures, where studio apartments start at a million dollars. Traffic is worse than ever, and our water supply will undoubtedly be threatened once these buildings are fully occupied.

In our entry we featured ?three dancing cranes? and ten immense buildings made of cardboard, inside which ten poor Sierrans had a free sauna bath- it was a warm afternoon. Four of these buildings were continuously moved and pushed in front of the audience by ?developers? and ?construction workers? in hard hats who carried megaphones and ?Over- Building Permits? and who happily blocked everyone?s view. All the while, six cardboard cars were in a continuous gridlock, their obnoxious occupants speaking on the phone, applying makeup, and blowing the horn throughout the parade.

We couldn?t have been the huge success that we were without the help of our Master Prop Builder, Vern Vurkhart, and of my husband Paul, Don Howe, and Amy Werba. Ours was really a collective effort, involving a lot of hard work and some great ideas from everyone. Our efforts paid off: we had our photo published in The Miami Herald, and we were judged best of the fifty groups by Antoinette Baldwin, King Mango Strut organizer. More importantly, we delivered our message to about 10,000 people in a fun and entertaining way, and had a blast in the process.

Greg Bush

• The event scheduled On January 12, 2007
• was MOVED TO FEBRUARY 6th
• Mayor CARLOS ALVAREZ WILL SPEAK

Two Events will take place on Virginia Key to help plan the future of Virginia Key. You are invited to participate in either or both.

Dinner from 6pm-7pm to Honor the Late Chair of theVirginia Key Park Trust Athalie Range as well as longtime Virginia Key activist Mabel Miller who is moving out of the area. Cocktails at 5:30 (Cash bar) Dinner at 6 pm: Cost of Dinner $25 Location: Overlooking the bay at Rosenstiel School.

• Send your dinner reservations to
• Urban Environment League
• 945 Pennsylvania Ave, Suite 100
• Miami Beach, FL 33139

A Separate Visioning Forum (including speakers, video overview of the island, oral history testimony and public comment) for Virginia Key open to the public from 7-9 pm. FREE Rosenstiel Auditorium, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key.

The city is embarking on an ambitious plan to create a Master Plan for the island but it is up to the residents of the city and the county to help provide input into the design. You are invited to help the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County create a Master Plan for Virginia Key.

Check out our website at : http://www.s l owthing.com/vkbd and provide your input into the process before January 12. Let us know what you would like to see on the island's various parcels. See the documentary on the history of Virginia Key Beach Park. Take your own pictures and send them to us with your own interpretation of the key. Help us with research, or make your own documentary and place it on the web. For further information about helping us develop our website, contact us at gbush@miami.edu. We are looking for help from high school and college students and faculty and everyday residents who know about the history of the key or have ideas about its future use.

It?s up to you to envision a better future for this unique island. Please participate!

[Editor's note-- We apologize for the sudden change in plans.]

Maria Papazian

As announced at the December Holiday Party, the third annual Sierra Club Miami Group fundraising dinner is scheduled for Friday, May 5th, 2007. The first year that this fundraising event was held, it was in October of 2004 and called the Harvest Moon Dinner and Silent Auction. The second year, we had it planned for November 2005, but Hurricane Wilma dropped by 11 days prior to our event, and as you may recall, we had to reschedule it to March 2006. As a result, ExCom decided to change the Harvest Moon to the Spring Fling and avoid the hurricane season all together.

This year, the Spring Fling Dinner and Silent Auction will be held on the 20th floor of the Double Tree Hotel on South Bayshore Drive surrounded by great views. The buffet and open bar will be accompanied by music for your dancing and listening pleasure, and a silent auction. It all begins at 7:30 PM and lasts until 11:30 PM.

The cost per person is $100 and includes valet parking, although there are limited parking meters to self-park on the street, if you prefer.

We are once again reaching into the Sierra Club?s tradition of grassroots participation, to pull it all off. We have many jobs to accomplish before the big day, many from the comfort of your own home. Some of the tasks include:

• Invitations
• Responses
• Publicity
• Center Pieces
• Speaker
• Silent Auction

To volunteer to help with the 2007 Spring Fling, contact Maria Papazian at mdpapazian@msn.com or at 305-519-0877.

The Spring Fling Planning Committee Meeting will meet from 6 to 7:30 PM at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club on Monday, February, 12th, 2007. Meetings will be kept to a minimum; most communication will be via email.

Our Outings list keeps its exponential growth pace! Do you feel Like you need to get away and into NATURE? Join us for an outing!

Saturday, February 10 - East River Day Canoe Fundraiser. Paddle approximately 8 - 10 miles, while exploring several mangrove tunnels and small 'lakes', south of Tamiami Trail, just West of Route 29. Learn what inhabits this unique ecosystem. Check out pictures from a previous trip, on the Broward Sierra Website, under 'Sierra Tales'. Paddles, life vests and canoes provided compliments of our host, John Judy of Florida Adventures. Bring your own lunch. Moderate to Strenuous. Mem. $25; Non-mem. $30 Jackie Fisher 954-434-2855. Kip Fisher 954-434-2855

February 17 - Everglades National Park Day Hike. Introductory hiking for beginners and a refresher for veterans. We will walk the Anhinga Boardwalk Trail and the Gumbo Limbo trail and then drive to the Pinelands area and have a gourmet lunch and walk a trail there. Each trail is less than one mile long. We?ll see gators, birds, turtles, fish, insects and maybe a snake or two. Leisure. Limit 10. Cost: $20 members, $25 non-members. Leader: Kaatje Bernabei, 305- 223-6551, e-mail: cbernabei@dadeschools.net. Asst: Alan Nowell, 305-270-5262 (days), e-mail: alan.nowell@sfefcu.org.

February 17, 18, 19 ? Long Pine Key Camping, Biking and Hiking. Camp in beautiful pine rockland in Everglades National Park. Explore the wildlife and plant communities by off-road biking and hiking in our national treasure. Park admission and transportation not included. Moderate. Limit 13 people in seven tents. Cost: $70 members, $80 non-members. Leader: Diane Jacobs, 305-667-6962, e-mail: diane@cobbebin. com. Asst: Lee Jacobs, 305-667-6962, email: eeljac@earthlink.net. Note: Must sign up and pay in full no later then February 1!

February 21?Outings Schedule Signup Meeting. Outing leaders and assistant leaders will meet Wednesday evening for snacks and beverages to planning of our new Outings Year 2007-2008. Leisure. No limit (the more, the merrier!) No cost. Leader: Jim Gross, 305-665-2401, e-mail: JMGross3013@aol.com.

Sunday, February 25, 9 AM ? canoeing/kayaking Loxahatchee River near Jupiter. This is a beautiful National Wild and Scenic River. See www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/south/trails/lo xahatchee.htm for more information. An outfitter rents canoes and kayaks or provides transport if you have your own. Cost is $50/boat for canoe or double kayak rental, $40 for single kayak rental, and $25/boat if you bring your own canoe or kayak. Moderate. Limit 20. Ron Haines, 561-964-1995, RonaldHaines@bellsouth.net. Reservations must be made by February 15!!

Saturday, March 3 - Everglades National Park Day Hike. See February 17 outing for details.

Sunday, March 4 South Dade Greenways Bike. Off road bike trip on the Southern Glades Trail along the C 111 canal in the Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area. Look for manatees in Manatee Bay. Lunch is included, but we will not have a sag wagon! Moderate. Limit 16. $10 members, $12 non-members. Diane Jacobs, 305 667 6962, diane@cobb-ebin.com. Lee Jacobs, 305 667- 6962, eeljac@earthlink.net. Note: Must sign up and pay in full no later then February 25!

Sunday, March 11, 10 AM - Shark Valley in Everglades National Park for a 15-mile bike ride. Link: http://www.florida-outdoors.com/9trail-sv.htm Bike rentals are available. Lots of wildlife to be seen and a tower to climb halfway through with a terrific view of flat Florida everglades terrain. We?ll find somewhere tacky and funky for lunch afterwards and then head home. Shark Valley is about an hour and 40 minutes from Lantana. FREE except for bike rentals and park admission. Moderate. Limit 19. Ron Haines, 561-964-1995, RonaldHaines@bellsouth.net. Reservations must be made by March 1!!

If you are interested in a trip, call or e-mail the trip leader and ask for details or come to the signup table at the general meetings.

Our outings are listed as Leisure, Moderate, or Strenuous. Be realistic about your physical condition and the degree of challenge you enjoy. Come ready to paddle, bicycle or hike and share the work. There are no passengers on our outings, only participants. Family trips are open to everyone. Once you have made a reservation, we ask that you make a serious commitment to attend the trip. Cancellations are detrimental to our program. Our outings leaders are unpaid trained volunteers.

Please sign up early for planning purposes. All reservations must be accompanied by a non- refundable deposit. Make all checks payable to Sierra Club Outings. Please write the name and date of your trip on your check and include your phone number. Deposits are $10 on trip fees of up to $100 and $20 on trips over $100 Fees on trips of $15 or less are to be paid in full with your reservation. Full payment is due 30 days in advance of the trip. Please send all payments to the trip leader.

If you must cancel, call the leader or assistant leader as early as possible. If you cancel 30 days or more in advance, your deposit will be refunded. If you cancel less than 30 days in advance, you lose your deposit. If you cancel 7 days or less in advance, you will forfeit all fees.

February 2007 Dr. Ted Fleming ?The Conservation Status of Nectar-Feeding Bats?

March 2007 Carlos Alvarez- Mayor Miami-Dade County

April 2007 James Woods , RecycledPCParts.com, "Recycling electronic equipment"

May 2007 Maria Papazian Miami Dade Public Schools Education Awards

It's a new year with new opportunities! Do you know someone who wants to speak to your Sierra Club-Miami Group?? Contact Ken Smith 305-758-3121

Kristina Trotta

February 22nd is the next big day for the Everglades Skyway. We will be going before the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) of Miami-Dade County to get their support through a resolution. The MPO has discussed the Skyway before, at their December meeting, where there was much support for the idea, but a vote was not taken.

At the December meeting, the members of the Board of Directors were encouraged by the 25 or so Skyway Supporters that were in the audience, identified by large blue buttons stating ?Build the Skyway.? We need just as many supporters in the audience on February 22nd. The MPO meets in the County Commission chambers on the 2nd floor of the Clark Government Center, at 111 NW 1st Street, in downtown Miami. The meeting begins at 2:00pm and is not expected to go longer than 2 hours.

The Skyway campaign has been building and the Coalition is growing every day. Our most recent endorsers are the City of Miami Gardens, ChamberSouth, the Miami Lakes and Green Thumb Garden Clubs and the Builders Association of South Florida, bringing our list of supporters up to 35!

The Skyway is a key project in moving Everglades Restoration forward and we must get the support of the MPO in order to take the next step in the campaign. If you are interested in attending the meeting on February 22nd, or would like more information, please contact Kristina.tr otta@sierraclub.org .

email: miamisierra@gmail.com

web: http://florida.sierraclub.org/miami/