July 10, 200818 yr I don't see any way this settles at mediation. I am almost shocked that Cohen would do this, considering that Braman is purportedly fighting to put everything to a public referendum...in other words, what can the city/county possibly agree to at mediation (in either financial or other concessions) that would accomodate Braman? This goes to show that Cohen believes Braman is really not fighting for the "principal" of putting this issue to a "public vote" and that this is really about monetary concessions by the city/county. This should be a fun (and useless) mediation to say the least.
July 10, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good!
July 10, 200818 yr Hes not going to win the fact alone that he is trying so hard, and delaying the process of building the stadium is pissing me off. GET IT DONE!
July 10, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Regardless if they could win or not, settlement is always preferable to a court case. Hopefully something can be worked out.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Regardless if they could win or not, settlement is always preferable to a court case. Hopefully something can be worked out. exactly. a settlement also keeps braman from going after the stadium again, whereas if he loses in court he will probably try to appeal.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Regardless if they could win or not, settlement is always preferable to a court case. Hopefully something can be worked out. exactly. a settlement also keeps braman from going after the stadium again, whereas if he loses in court he will probably try to appeal. That seems to be the most important. Make him somewhat happy and it takes away any chance of him coming back and complaining...
July 11, 200818 yr exactly. a settlement also keeps braman from going after the stadium again, whereas if he loses in court he will probably try to appeal. We have a winner! :mischief
July 11, 200818 yr I just never considered that this was a matter that had "make a deal" to it. Usually there are claims from both sides which differ which provides the stimulus for compromise. Here, I thought that Braman wanted to stop this whole thing and force a vote. A deal will not provide for a vote-so Braman was just puffing, inhaling and getting high. I just have a hard time accepting Braman saying "This was all about doing the right thing for the community..."and blah blah blah-phony SOB and I say SOB from first hand knowledge-regardless of acknowledging his huge philanthropic contributions over the years. You can still do good things in life without being an SOB-that is a choice he made-to be one. But he is a car dealer after all.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Agreed. I think the only reason this idiot is going to court is to recieve a settlement. It is unlikely that this old fragile man would win in Floridas Supreme court. The county should keep bringing him to court so that he can keep paying court and lawyer fees.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Agreed. I think the only reason this idiot is going to court is to recieve a settlement. It is unlikely that this old fragile man would win in Floridas Supreme court. The county should keep bringing him to court so that he can keep paying court and lawyer fees. You do realize that the Marlins, city, and county also pay lawyer and court fees. Can the Marlins win the case? Absolutely, but the best case scenerio is a settlement. It puts this to rest quickly, and that is the most important thing right now.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Agreed. I think the only reason this idiot is going to court is to recieve a settlement. It is unlikely that this old fragile man would win in Floridas Supreme court. The county should keep bringing him to court so that he can keep paying court and lawyer fees. You do realize that the Marlins, city, and county also pay lawyer and court fees. Can the Marlins win the case? Absolutely, but the best case scenerio is a settlement. It puts this to rest quickly, and that is the most important thing right now. Your rite. But to the city and county the fees are basically microscopic, to the billionaire it is probably minimal as well. However, it would be interesting to watch him loose over a long period of time. On the other hand giving the man money is just as bad, but good so that everyone can move on.
July 11, 200818 yr The Marlins and the City and County should not settle anything with this idiot. Beat him in court so he will shut the heck up for good! Agreed. I think the only reason this idiot is going to court is to recieve a settlement. It is unlikely that this old fragile man would win in Floridas Supreme court. The county should keep bringing him to court so that he can keep paying court and lawyer fees. You do realize that the Marlins, city, and county also pay lawyer and court fees. Can the Marlins win the case? Absolutely, but the best case scenerio is a settlement. It puts this to rest quickly, and that is the most important thing right now. Your rite. But to the city and county the fees are basically microscopic, to the billionaire it is probably minimal as well. However, it would be interesting to watch him loose over a long period of time. On the other hand giving the man money is just as bad, but good so that everyone can move on. Now, I wonder if Braman is doing this and paying legal fees and not taking a tax deduction. To do so, this would need to be tied in to a business purpose, or the preservation of income producing property. But given his public stance of doing it for the community, the IRS may not fall for the business aspect. Oh well, who am I kidding, the lawyers will say they are not charging him and doing it as a gesture of goodwill for the community. Then they just tack it on to some business matters that he has ongoing-no one would know.
July 12, 200818 yr It is true, Braman's biggest weapon regardless of the strength of his case, is time and the threat of appeal. The Marlins, from a construction standpoint, have a gun at their heads and while one would think by the way the first judge ruled Braman's case may be weak and getting weaker, he can afford, literally and figuratively, to stretch this out as long as possible.
July 12, 200818 yr is there an injunction prohibiting the Marlins from moving forward if not the county/city should have their final vote and get building
July 12, 200818 yr I just never considered that this was a matter that had "make a deal" to it. Usually there are claims from both sides which differ which provides the stimulus for compromise. Here, I thought that Braman wanted to stop this whole thing and force a vote. A deal will not provide for a vote-so Braman was just puffing, inhaling and getting high. I just have a hard time accepting Braman saying "This was all about doing the right thing for the community..."and blah blah blah-phony SOB and I say SOB from first hand knowledge-regardless of acknowledging his huge philanthropic contributions over the years. You can still do good things in life without being an SOB-that is a choice he made-to be one. But he is a car dealer after all. Hes a SOB with too much money, money he doesn't know what to do with.
July 12, 200818 yr is there an injunction prohibiting the Marlins from moving forward if not the county/city should have their final vote and get building No. For a quick reference, take a look at what happened here in Palm Beach County for a possible clue as to an outcome. In West Palm Beach, the mayor approved the construction of the new City Hall complex and sale of the old City Hall without it going to a referendum. A citizen's group sued, but construction went on. With the City Hall now about 70% complete (and not just City Hall, but a new city library, parking garage, and photography museum -- it's known as West Palm Beach City Center), the Plaintiff's in the case won the lawsuit saying that the mayor did not have the authority to do what she did without a vote. There was concern that everything would come down, but a settlement was reached (I can't remember the details) and everything is moving forward. Look for something similar in Miami-Dade.
July 12, 200818 yr is there an injunction prohibiting the Marlins from moving forward if not the county/city should have their final vote and get building No. So if this true, then they can go ahead with their schedule, and break ground on time, if Braman loose, and eventually appeals right?
July 12, 200818 yr The only area where I might disagree in comparing this project with PBC is that this one still needs final approvals from the county commission (and I forget of the city commission has anything more to sign off on) and you could have commissioners reluctant to vote in the affirmative if further litigation is pending or the threat of an appeal, real or imagined, is on the horizon. That's why in my non-lawyer, don't play one on TV, opinion is to tie this thing down now and make it go away through some meeting of the minds and a settlement of the outstanding issues. You are more apt to get the vote you want from those elected by having a clear road ahead of them rather than a minefield of possible litigation.
July 12, 200818 yr Well I guess this doesn't bode well for a settlement.... http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/602791.html About 70 protest city-county megaplan Posted on Sat, Jul. 12, 2008reprint print email Yahoo! BuzzFacebook Digg del.icio.us AIM By EVAN S. BENN ebenn@MiamiHerald.com Standing between two old voting booths on the west side of Watson Island, car magnate Norman Braman said Saturday only a vote on the megaplan between the city of Miami, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Marlins would make him settle his lawsuit against it. ''There will be no settlement without giving people the right to vote,'' Braman said to a crowd of about 70 supporters. ``If they will allow people to vote on this, I will drop my litigation first thing.'' Braman sued to stop the progress of a $3 billion so-called megaplan, which county commissioners approved last year to build a new Marlins stadium in Little Havana and a port tunnel, among a slew of other projects. The case is scheduled to go to trial Monday, after a Miami-Dade circuit court judge last week ordered attorneys for Braman, the governments and the Marlins to try to mediate the case outside of the courtroom. Braman, 75, stood in front of homemade signs that read ''Go Braman Go!'' ''Megaplan or Megascam?'' and ''Let the People Vote!'' He was the last of several speakers, including Miami City Commissioner Tom?s Regalado, Morningside activist Elvis Cruz and county commission candidate Val Screen. People in the crowd kept asking for Braman to talk louder -- his words soft-spoken even through a bullhorn. He closed with a mention of support for Screen, who is running against incumbent Audrey Edmonson, partly on an anti-megaplan platform. ''It's our fault because we voted these people into office,'' Braman said. Regalado, who is looking to be elected Miami mayor in 2009, praised Braman for fighting for ``the people's agenda.'' ''Thank God for Norman Braman,'' Regalado said. ``We're ready to fight. And we will win.'' Cruz and others organized Saturday's event outside the Miami Children's Museum on Watson Island because, under the megaplan terms, Waton Island and Bicentennial Park right across Biscayne Bay would be considered ''slum and blight'' areas. That designation would allow officials to include the areas in an expanded city Community Redevelopment Agency. But Cruz and others said CRA money should be spent on needy areas, not Watson Island and Bicentennial Park. ''You are standing on land that is slum and blight,'' Cruz said with more than a hint of sarcasm. ``Gosh, why is waterfront land considered slum and blight?'' I don't know much about the law, but when the judge in the case orders mediation to continue until Monday, shouldn't you actually do that and not hold a public rally? ''There will be no settlement without giving people the right to vote'' certainly doesn't sound like someone making a good faith effort to negotiate a settlement. I was holding out hope that they'd settle and this crochety old man would go away, but that doesn't appear likely. So I guess we'll be back where we started Monday morning with the trial getting underway. In retrospect, they probably should have just started hearing the case last week so it'd be that much closer to finishing. As for this "rally", I always find it funny when people hold a rally and very few people show up. About 70 people, most of whom are there only because they have some sort of political agenda or are planning on running for office...you are really speaking for the people there Norman.
July 12, 200818 yr Well I guess this doesn't bode well for a settlement.... http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/602791.html About 70 protest city-county megaplan Posted on Sat, Jul. 12, 2008reprint print email Yahoo! BuzzFacebook Digg del.icio.us AIM By EVAN S. BENN ebenn@MiamiHerald.com Standing between two old voting booths on the west side of Watson Island, car magnate Norman Braman said Saturday only a vote on the megaplan between the city of Miami, Miami-Dade County and the Florida Marlins would make him settle his lawsuit against it. ''There will be no settlement without giving people the right to vote,'' Braman said to a crowd of about 70 supporters. ``If they will allow people to vote on this, I will drop my litigation first thing.'' Braman sued to stop the progress of a $3 billion so-called megaplan, which county commissioners approved last year to build a new Marlins stadium in Little Havana and a port tunnel, among a slew of other projects. The case is scheduled to go to trial Monday, after a Miami-Dade circuit court judge last week ordered attorneys for Braman, the governments and the Marlins to try to mediate the case outside of the courtroom. Braman, 75, stood in front of homemade signs that read ''Go Braman Go!'' ''Megaplan or Megascam?'' and ''Let the People Vote!'' He was the last of several speakers, including Miami City Commissioner Tom?s Regalado, Morningside activist Elvis Cruz and county commission candidate Val Screen. People in the crowd kept asking for Braman to talk louder -- his words soft-spoken even through a bullhorn. He closed with a mention of support for Screen, who is running against incumbent Audrey Edmonson, partly on an anti-megaplan platform. ''It's our fault because we voted these people into office,'' Braman said. Regalado, who is looking to be elected Miami mayor in 2009, praised Braman for fighting for ``the people's agenda.'' ''Thank God for Norman Braman,'' Regalado said. ``We're ready to fight. And we will win.'' Cruz and others organized Saturday's event outside the Miami Children's Museum on Watson Island because, under the megaplan terms, Waton Island and Bicentennial Park right across Biscayne Bay would be considered ''slum and blight'' areas. That designation would allow officials to include the areas in an expanded city Community Redevelopment Agency. But Cruz and others said CRA money should be spent on needy areas, not Watson Island and Bicentennial Park. ''You are standing on land that is slum and blight,'' Cruz said with more than a hint of sarcasm. ``Gosh, why is waterfront land considered slum and blight?'' I don't know much about the law, but when the judge in the case orders mediation to continue until Monday, shouldn't you actually do that and not hold a public rally? ''There will be no settlement without giving people the right to vote'' certainly doesn't sound like someone making a good faith effort to negotiate a settlement. I was holding out hope that they'd settle and this crochety old man would go away, but that doesn't appear likely. So I guess we'll be back where we started Monday morning with the trial getting underway. In retrospect, they probably should have just started hearing the case last week so it'd be that much closer to finishing. As for this "rally", I always find it funny when people hold a rally and very few people show up. About 70 people, most of whom are there only because they have some sort of political agenda or are planning on running for office...you are really speaking for the people there Norman. This article seems like a damper on things. I do not get why he is such an old bitter man----GET OVER IT! :banghead :banghead :banghead :banghead
July 12, 200818 yr ''Thank God for Norman Braman,'' Regalado said. ``We're ready to fight. And we will win.'' What a sack of sh*t.
July 12, 200818 yr PEOPLE, LISTEN UP.... AFTER WHAT HAS TRANSPIRED TODAY AT WATSON ISLAND ONLY A PROPER RETALIATION WILL DO... IF YOU SUPPORT THIS FRANCHISE, AS I DO, GO TO COUNTY COURTHOUSE (73 W FLAGLER ST) MONDAY MORNING AND LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! WE MUST SHOW THE PUBLIC, CITY, MEDIA AND FLORIDA MARLINS ORGANIZATION THAT THIS TEAM TOO HAS MANY SUPPORTERS! LET'S SUPPORT OUR TEAM! LET'S SHOW BRAMAN THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS FOR THE MARLINS! PLEASE COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR SUPPORT (BRING FRIENDS AND FAMILY).
July 13, 200818 yr Had I known that f***er was gonna be at Watson Island today, I would have gone down there to shove his wrinkly ass into the bay.
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