An item we posted August 13 on TheJuiceBlog.com about Broward Hospital District Commissioner Rebecca Stoll garnered dozens of comments (read the item reprinted on page 4). The item referenced a memo written by the district's former attorney Laura Seidman claiming commissioners were "using their public offices and powers improperly and for their own purposes." Among the comments:
Commissioner Stoll is a classy lady who has donated her own personal time and money to the Museum of Discovery and Science and to Broward Health. Your article is absurd. You should be praising this wonderful and generous woman.
Tom Smith
This stuff all sounds very familiar. A local journalist uncovers unscrupulous behavior on the part of an elected official, and quickly the minions emerge to discredit the story.
Is St oll so beyond corrupt intent or does a slice of the community love her because she could be anybody's daughter? She looks like the girl next door, but do not let looks deceive you. Look at the facts and then decide...
Is Cobo also being attacked by the media? I think you'd all rather look closer before making a blanket statement that she is not capable of unethical behavior. If she is, you're being duped out of your own money right now. If she is not capable, then let the facts bare it out.
"Hammerhead"
Rebecca Stoll "exudes class and dignity"? And I am willing to bet that Mussolini's mom thought he was a swell child.
Chaz Stevens
The main subject of Bob Norman's column this week (see page 6) garnered 45 comments not long after he posted it August 12 on his blog, Daily Pulp. Here are a few of them:
In the articles about waste and fraud in school construction, you seemed to have left out one key factor: the Class Size Amendment. The voters of Florida demanded that class size be reduced on a fairly tight schedule and that the Legislature pay for it. The governor and Legislature reneged on the contract, leaving Florida schools in debt to pay for what the voters demanded in the first place.
You also forgot to mention that student enrollment was increasing dramatically until 2005. Oh, there's no denying that some construction was questionable, especially seeing that Fort Lauderdale High School's 1998 renovation project under former Superintendent Frank Till was so badly mismanaged that it's more than $10 million over budget and still incomplete.
Sometimes I have no choice but to question some of your sources.
Marty Rubinstein
Marty, you talk about who, what, when, where and why. Who of the other 66 counties complied with class-size-reduction requirements? What happened to those who did not? When did the number of classrooms (empty seats) so badly outnumber the students (with asses)? Where would you build them if you wanted to be fiscally responsible?
Why do you insist on pretending that we are so stupid that we would buy the bullshit you are trying, not only to sell, but force-feed us? It is clear that you are not only a board member but you are the leader of the pack. It is crazy to see you so desperate when you seem so much more at home just being condescending and arrogant. I think most of us out here know who you are even when you change handles.
"Score Keeper"
Does anyone recall that one of the problems with the new schools that were constructed during this time is that they did not have the size of the classrooms reduced to meet the reduced number of students in the classrooms? Several schools were constructed with classrooms of the same size as those prior to the classroom-size reduction. Considering the costs per square foot of each school, I would imagine several millions of dollars could have been saved if the design department had noticed this error.
"Fly on the Wall"